Best Director at the Oscars could be majority women for the first time in history
It used to be just a matter of fact that only men would be nominated for Best Director at the Oscars other than very rare exceptions. That has changed in recent years, though. And now we could potentially see the academy nominate three women in the race.
Over the first 82 years of the Academy Awards only four women were ever nominated for the prize and only one won (Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker”). Just since 2017, however, there have been four more female nominees and two more winners (Chloe Zhao for “Nomadland,” Jane Campion for “The Power of the Dog”). The year Zhao won, Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) was also nominated, marking the first time two women contended in the same year. Naturally, the next step in Oscar history would be majority female nominees in the category.
It might just happen. There are three women in our top 10 for Best Director based on the combined predictions of thousands of Gold Derby users. The likeliest nominee, ranked fourth in our odds, is Greta Gerwig (“Barbie”), a previous nominee for “Lady Bird” who would follow Campion as only the second woman to receive multiple bids for directing. Already this season she has been nominated at the Critics Choice Awards and Golden Globes for her work behind the camera.
The next strongest possibility, ranked seventh in our odds, is Celine Song (“Past Lives”). Her film opened in the spring, so it seemed possible that the intimate indie drama would get lost in the shuffle once awards season kicked into gear in the fall. But the film surprised us at the Globes with five nominations, including one for Song’s direction. And it received five Independent Spirit Award nominations, also including a Best Director bid for Song. The film, and Song’s filmmaking, are right in the thick of it for Oscars.
Ranked ninth in our Best Director forecast is Justine Triet (“Anatomy of a Fall”), whose film won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. So far she has gotten more awards attention for her script than for her direction, but she did claim Best European Director at the European Film Awards. And lately there’s usually at least one international art-house director in the Oscars lineup. Consider Pawel Pawlikowski (“Cold War”), historic winner Bong Joon Ho (“Parasite”), Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”), Ryusuke Hamaguchi (“Drive My Car”) and Ruben Ostlund (“Triangle of Sadness”) all in the last five years. This year that could be Triet, especially as her film also looks like a strong contender for Best Picture, Best Actress (Sandra Huller) and Best Original Screenplay.
Do you think this could be the year of majority female representation in Best Director, or will male filmmakers continue their monopoly?
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