He returned to directing after twenty years with "The Thin Red Line" (1998) for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director and was awarded the Golden Bear at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival, followed by "The New World" (2005) and "The Tree of Life" (2011) for which he also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director and for Best Adapted Screenplay for the former film and received the Palme d'Or at the 64th Cannes Film Festival for the second.