Five directors have been nominated in the Best director category at this year's Oscars.  | OTHER CATEGORIES |
Vote for your favourite in the BBC News website's own poll using the panel on the right. Voting will continue until the 2007 Academy Awards ceremony in Hollywood on 25 February.
ALEJANDRO GONZALEZ INARRITU - BABEL
Mexican-born Inarritu has never before received an Oscar nod but was named best director at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival for Babel.
His reputation is for varied and complex human stories interwoven with a basic morality message, often working with screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga.
MARTIN SCORSESE - THE DEPARTED
Critically-acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese is widely considered to be one of the most significant and influential post-war American film-makers. However, he has never won an Oscar.
He is best known for Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980) and Goodfellas (1990).
CLINT EASTWOOD - LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA
A late bloomer Oscar-wise, Eastwood has won best director twice for Unforgiven (1993) and Million Dollar Baby (2003). On both occasions the films also won best picture.
Letters From Iwo Jima tells of the fanatical defence of a Pacific island by Japanese soldiers in World War II.
STEPHEN FREARS - THE QUEEN
British director Stephen Frears made his Hollywood debut with Dangerous Liaisons in 1988. He had another critical success with The Grifters in 1990, for which he was nominated for the Academy Award for best director. The Queen has won acclaim at many award ceremonies.
PAUL GREENGRASS - UNITED 93
A British film-maker noted for tackling fact-based subjects, including police corruption and the Irish troubles, while being able to handle such big-budget films as The Bourne Supremacy.
United 93 is an almost real-time account of the only hijacked plane on 9/11 not to hit its target.
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