How many female directors are going to be nominated?
Friday, February 12, 2021 at 5:24PM by Juan Carlos Ojano
In hindsight, concerns that "there are no movies" or cries to "cancel the Oscars" during the pandemic were premature and also insulting. We could lament all the films postponed or we could embrace the extraordinary films we got. 2020 was a rich year of diverse voices behind the movies. That happily translated to the awards conversation: BIPOC and female filmmakers have had an unprecedented presence in the run up to the Oscar nominations.
Looking back at Oscar history, only five women have been nominated for Best Director...
Lina Wertmüller (1976)
Jane Campion (1993)
Sofia Coppola (2003)
Kathryn Bigelow (2009)
Greta Gerwig (2017).
Only Bigelow managed to win.
This year, several female directors have been in play during award season, and some of them may well make Oscar history. Here are the five women who are closest to doing just that:
Chloé Zhao - Nomadland
Wins: Boston, New York, Boston Online, Los Angeles, Chicago, Indiana, Florida, Greater Western NY, North Carolina, AWFJ, Oklahoma, Columbus, NSFC, Music City, San Diego, North Dakota, St. Louis, Philadelphia, SF Bay, Denver, Houston, BFCC, Kansas, OFCS, North Texas, NY Online, Atlanta, Toronto
RU/Nom: Globes (TBA), Sunset, Chicago Indie, Spirit (TBA), Satellite (TBA), Hollywood (TBA)
Zhao has transformed from a formidable contender to the unequivocal frontrunner in this category for her work, winning a large majority of precursor awards. Zhao’s vision of a woman’s experience within the nomadic community is both intimate and expansive. Set in the aftermath of the economic recession of 2008, Zhao finds both the emotional wounds and the shared humanity of the nomads. We see two-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand give a naturalistic performance that never calls attention to itself. Meanwhile, her portrayal of Fern is located within an ensemble of real-life nomads whose relationship dynamics with her become the heart of the film. Whether by showing McDormand walking around an ancient forest or focusing squarely at Swankie’s face as she tells her own story, Zhao captures an experience that is both eye-opening and genuinely moving.
Regina King - One Night in Miami
Win: BFCC, Spirit (Robert Altman Award)
RU/Nom: Globes (TBA), Indiana, North Carolina, AWFJ, Houston, Hollywood (TBA)
This Oscar-winning actress and industry favorite makes her directorial debut with an adaptation of the stage play by Kemp Powers. The drama centers on a meeting between historical giants Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke, and Jim Brown as they reckon with their place in the civil rights movement of the 1960s. King escapes the usual misstep of stage adaptations (the desperation to ‘open it up’) and instead finds a pace that organically takes the story in several directions, from a confined motel room to a spacious rooftop. Expertly modulated performances are captured with clear-eyed lensing, showing several layers to the conversations the men are having. The result is a four-way dialogue that is closer to reflective than combative, and a movie that feels alive and vital.
Emerald Fennell - Promising Young Woman
Win: none
RU/Nom: Globes (TBA), Chicago, Indiana, Chicago Indie, North Carolina, AWFJ, Columbus, Music City, North Carolina, North Dakota, St. Louis, SF Bay, Houston, OFCS, North Texas, Atlanta, Hollywood (TBA)
This cast member of The Crown makes her first foray in feature filmmaking as the voice behind one of this year’s most talked about films. Following the story of Cassandra, a woman on a mission to teach men a lesson on consent, the film is a high-stakes takedown of rape culture with pitch black humor. In a way, it makes sense that Fennell handles the film’s tonal whiplash so well; her stint as the showrunner of Killing Eve’s second season already showed her skill in juggling these tones. In the film, she uses idiosyncratic tonal balances to dig deep into something dark and truthful. Cassie’s several confrontations in the film are incredibly tense yet underlined with a conscious tinge of humor to offset the tension. The climactic scene at the bachelor party is an expert combination of dark comedy, nerve-wracking thriller, and upsetting meditation on rape. The result are scenes that leave you offbalance, pulled off with extreme confidence and sensitivity.
Kelly Reichardt - First Cow
Win: none
RU/Nom: Boston, Chicago, Indiana, Florida, Greater Western NY, AWFJ, NSFC, San Diego, North Carolina, North Dakota, Philadelphia, SF Bay, OFCS, Spirit, Toronto
A true indie darling, Reichardt returns to the awards race for her tale of 1820s America where a couple of dreamers (John Magaro and Orion Lee) aim to make it by selling oily cakes, albeit by stealing milk from a landowner’s cow. Simply put, Reichardt’s vision of Americana is stunning. With deliberately calculated pacing, camera movements, blocking, and acting, this film is exquisitely mounted. It's demonstrative of a filmmaker who knows her craft and uses the cinematic language to highlight themes and nuances. Whether it be Magaro looking lovingly at the cow while crossing trees or the troubling quietness of him and Lee stealing milk, Reichardt is masterful. First Cow is the kind of film that we can see getting a lone Director nomination.
Eliza Hittman - Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Win: none
RU/Nom: Indiana, SF Bay, OFCS, Spirit, Hollywood (TBA)
Another indie favorite, Hittman tackles abortion in her third feature film about a young woman (Sidney Flanigan) who goes to New York with her cousin (Talia Ryder) to get access to the procedure without her parents knowing. Embracing the narrative’s small scale, Hittman brings us an incredibly intimate, sincere, non-judgmental, and ultimately, powerful film. We are made to feel as if we are spatially and emotionally close to the two leads as they go through a relentless journey. Their exhaustion, we feel. Their disposition, we understand. Nowhere is this all more true than in the titular sequence: with a non-moving camera, Flanigan is framed just a bit off-center as she is interrogated with the most invasive of questions. Hittman’s empathy for the character is on full display.
Others worth mentioning include but are not limited to:
Radha Blank - The Forty Year Old Version
Channing Godfrey Peoples - Miss Juneteenth
Heidi Ewing - I Carry You with Me
Josephine Decker - Shirley
Julia Hart - I'm Your Woman
Kitty Green - The Assistant
Robin Wright - Land
Shannon Murphy - Babyteeth
Autumn de Wilde - Emma.
Miranda July - Kajillionaire
Natalie Erika James - Relic
...and many more.
How many female directors are you predicting will be nominated in March?
Reader Comments (47)
Thanks for this! Good article.
I think two or three will be nominated: Chloe Zhao almost certainly, Regina King probably and Emerald Fennell or Kelly Reichart maybe.
It's long overdue.
It’d be really nice if the Academy’s Director’s branch just threw balls to the wall and nominated 5 female directors this year.
Realistically at least 2 will be nominated. I think it will end up being 3.
If the line-up included all 5 of the female directors you highlighted, it would be much deserved!
Zero
Many worthy choices, none of them Regina King.
One. Zhao and that's all.
Just Zhao but i'd love to be surprised,my personal surprise director nominee is Paul Greengrass.
Three...and then they will all lose to Fincher...
Zhao and King.
Great article! I think we’ll get Zhao and either King or Fennell - I don’t wanna get my hopes up too much about all three of them making it in but unless DGA only nominates Zhao I think it’s fair to predict at least two women getting in. Mind you, I’d take all five of the directors you wrote about over most of the men in contention. But if we end up with the three women from the Globes, plus Fincher and Lee, I’ll be happy.
I’m hopeful we’ll get the three globes women but currently I expect just two. Deciding on a second is the hard choice as King and Fennell both have strong narratives.
If DGA & BAFTA manages to nominate two/three women and the academy don’t it will be quite the bad look for the academy. I’m hopeful we got a category lacking any cisgender white men but unfortunately I expect one of Finches/Sorkin to undeservedly make it in
When Directors who are in a minority of the category become frontrunners, often it allows a secondary Director who has that trait in common to get nominated as well - due to #2 votes, and the champions of the first director feeling safe to vote elsewhere knowing their #1 will still get in.
In 2017 when Del Toro was the far-away frontrunner with a genre film, Jordan Peele was able to get in with Get Out.
In 2018 when Alfonso Cuaron was the far-away frontrunner with a foreign film, Pawel Pawlikowski was able to get in with Cold War.
This year, with Chloe Zhao as the far-away frontrunner, I believe that will create a surplus that will benefit Emerald Fennell in particular, and also Lee Isaac Chung (as an Asian-American director with an intimate, small-scale vision). If Zhao's nomination were less secure, I believe both these people would struggle to be nominated as their voters would feel compelled to secure the nom for Zhao.
I give the edge to Fennell over Regina King as Fennell's direction is showier - PYW has a particularly distinct voice in writing and directing style, which is fresh and exciting a lot of people, and the fact that she wrote and directed it will have the film seen as more of an auteur work than One Night in Miami.
I guess there will be two: Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell. Sorry Regina King, but I wouldn't bet on you since neither Ben Affleck nor Bradley Cooper got nominations for their films. And I still think they wouldn't give 3 slots to women in best director :/
I'm so pessimistic about this. Zhao is in (and likely to win), but I don't think the others are making it. Maybe Regina King will sneak in because of the genre and because of her fame, but I don't think Emerald Fennell will get the nod. She's new to movies AND it's so outside Oscar's usual wheelhouse. Kelly Reichardt has been doing great work for years, but I truly don't think voters watch her movies.
Just Zhao for now. All of my prayers are for Reichardt. If the eligibility window weren’t extended, they’d have no excuse.
Hopefully any three of these five, and let's hope in our lifetimes we get to see all five slots go to women.
I do not share Nathaniel's optimism that The Father will over perform. Sony Picture Classics consistently under performs every year due to their antiquated distribution model that believes the slowest and latest possible moment to develop word of mouth will succeed.
It would be great if Reichardt, Zhao and Eliza Hittman all got nominated but that's more wishful thinking than anything. Zhao, most likely, possibly Regina King. Or as someone mentioned, just nominate five directors. For me that would be Zhao, Fennell, King, Reichardt and Hittman. This might be one of the rare times where I'd celebrate whoever wins among them.
3: Fennell, King, & Zhao. All 5 ladies would be crazy, but they're not gonna deny Fincher & Lee a seat at the table.
Chloe and Regina seem like locks to me. I would be elated for Emerald Fennell if she made it in, but I just don't see it happening.
It would be great if AMPAS followed the Globes and nominated three female directors, but I'm not bold enough to predict it. Having one woman in the Best Director lineup is still more rare than it should be. Chloe Zhao feels safe, even if I still have my doubts about how the Academy will respond to Nomadland (I love it, but it would be a very atypical choice), and I actually think Regina King is a stronger second choice than Emerald Fennell, given that King is directing a male-dominated movie and the only time a woman has won the Oscar for Best Director was for a male-dominated movie and overall genre (I remember part of the conversation around The Hurt Locker was that people were astonished that a woman directed such a masculine movie... which is stupid, I know). Regina King is also the only one of these directors listed that didn't also write her film's screenplay, so voters may also feel it's the only place they can nominate her.
Still, if AMPAS surprises and we get a lineup that's 60% women (or more), I'll be happy to be wrong (just like I was happy last year when Parasite won Best Picture, even though I could never bring myself to predict it).
Zhao for sure. That’s all the credit I’m giving the academy.
The director’s branch hasn’t been kind to actors turned directors this decade (I.e. Affleck and Cooper) and King could definitely follow in their footsteps.
I’m thinking the lineup is Zhao, Fincher, Sorkin, Lee, and Chung.
Only Zhao. Get ready for that. And because she's won too much at this point, to ignore her.
I think the line up will be
Zhao
Fincher
Lee
Sorkin
Greengrass/Chung
Only Zhao deserves it.
I think the same as Nick Taylor: Chloe, Emmerald and Regina + Fincher and Spike. It would be a shame if Sorkin or Greengrass (or both) were nominated just by the “power of white men” in such a diverse year. History has to be made (for good)!
As things are looking:
- Zhao
- Fincher
- Sorkin
- Lee
- Fennel
I am predicting two will get in unless three or more are nominated by the DGA.
Lenard -- same. Only ZHAO is locked but obviously FENNELL or KING (but not both i don't think) could happen. REICHARDT feels like a viable "surprise"... though i literally cannot imagine HITTMAN making it. It's too "small" a movie for that particular branch. so i'm guessing 2 of the 5.
Peter -- FOXCATCHER is what i keep coming back to. It definitely overperformed. Yes, the distribution model is archaic... but in this weird year some of the "top" contenders (MINARI/NOMADLAND) also used this exact same playbook.
Historically, the directors branch loved welcoming actors into the club. However, they were always welcoming men in, so it’s hard to note if that will translate with this branch, which has been at an arms length with female directors with 3/100 nominations in the last 20 years.
Zhao is in, and she’s the front runner. Given that she’s likely to win, that may be enough. It’s easy to see King as a strong 4th or 5th given the strength of her film. But, it’s easy to see voters overlooking her because her film is such an actor’s piece and doesn’t have a lot of visual flourishes the way something like Oridinary people did.
I should add... I think Greengrass is more likely to get nominated than any woman director, excluding Zhao...
... however, I don't think he should be nominated by any means. News of the World is a good, if unremarkable film beyond some technicals and Hanks and Zengel's performances (I'd only nominate Hanks, though, but I have other names in my list of "5 Bests")
And Regina King... well, One Night in Miami is well directed (actually way better than Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, in my opinion) but I don't think she belongs in any race other than Best First Feature or New Director stuff... she will be there in DGA but I doubt she will cross the line to the final big DGA quintet.
Wishing for 3, but only see 1 or 2 happening.
I continue to think the director's branch has, of late, an animus against actors-turned-director. It's easy to think Kevin Costner stole an Oscar Scorsese deserved, Robert Redford stole an Oscar Scorsese deserved, Eastwood stole an Oscar Scorsese deserved (poor Scorsese!) I'm not saying I agree, but lately things have changed: Eastwood was not nominated for AMERICAN SNIPER, Affleck was not nominated for ARGO, Gerwig was not nominated for LITTLE WOMEN. I just think lately that's a point against them in the tally. So King might be out. Zhao, however, seems like a lock. She might be the only one, or Reichardt or Fennell could sneak in, too.
Are people supporting these directors for excellence or political reasons? It seems like this awards season has been highjacked by politics. Film criticism has been taken over by race and gender issues, and the focus on artistry has been cast aside. And, frankly, I am kind of disgusted with the amount of time that is wasted on this awards baloney when there is so much trouble in the world. Trump just got acquitted in the Senate and there is a pandemic, and all the rest of the troubles. Really, who cares about any of this shit?
MO: if you don’t care, maybe kindly find another site to comment on.
On your first point: I think a certain other Oscar blogger (Sasha Stone) has gone off the deep end and thinks every twist and turn of this Oscar season has been impacted by cancel culture on Twitter. It’s a bit nuts. I think this year women and minority directors just happened to make the better (and Oscar-friendly) movies. Maybe because the more traditional Oscar movies — in the same vein as the male-directed News of the World — got pushed to 2021 due to the pandemic?
"Historically, the directors branch loved welcoming actors into the club." Tell that to Ben Affleck and Bradley Cooper.
Dan Humphrey: but Greta Gerwig WAS nominated for Lady Bird, as was Jordan Peele for Get Out. So, it's never out of the realm of possibility.
Foxcatcher is an excellent example, but I also wonder if that was more due to industry love for Bennett Miller. His track record with the Academy is impressive: all three narrative features received 5+ nominations including 2 acting noms and a screenplay nom for each. Strangely Foxcatcher did not get a best picture nomination, though surely it would have been in 9th or 10th place at least. He has a knack for biopics, a notoriously dull genre that the Academy seems to love nonetheless...
My pessimism about The Father is also in no way meant as a slight to the film, only that Sony Picture Classics released some of the best films of the last decade and I wish many had performed better, even if many did perfectly well (i.e. Pain and Glory, Call Me by Your Name, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, The Rider, Love Is Strange, Before Midnight, and A Separation). Perhaps it is not only their archaic distribution model, but also their challenges with modern press and building word-of-mouth online. Minari and Nomadland have excelled in that realm where The Father has not, even though it premiered at the same Sundance as Minari.
@Richter Scale. I'm not saying it's "outside the realm of possibility," but I think it's an uphill climb, and I don't think ONE NIGHT IN MIAMI is anything close to the phenomena that GET OUT and LADY BIRD were. It's a very good filmed play. Is it any better, as a directorial achievement, than MA RAINY or other intimate dramas like PIECES OF A WOMAN, JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH or what not? It used to be actor-directors had a bit of a head start in this category; now I think it's a handicap.
I wish will be three but I'm gonna predict two.
In the Ariel Awards in México female directors has been recurrent nominated in the last decades. In fact, the last four years at least one of the nominees has been a woman having the record in the 2018 ceremony with 3 of the 6 nominees.
But unfortunately in México most people are worrier of what happen in Hollywood that in the national industry so no one really cares about Arieles, what a shame (of the people, not the situation)
Politics have definitely influenced this race. Both positively and negatively. Awards have always been political, though. The political reasoning just changes with the times.
For instance, the number of actors of color or female directors in contention is a testament to the improvement of representation and the quality of material being made for diverse audiences. That's a positive.
But people should be voted for because of their skill level, not *because* they're checking a box. That's degrading to both the honor and the person. If they get nominated, awesome, because historically, people have been chosen for various reasons which we will never know, and no matter what, making it in means you're the academy's choice. Period.
But if they're not nominated and people blame it on them being women, that's wack. The academy might vote another direction, that's just the way it is. They can choose who they want to. But the opportunities are there now, and that's what's most important.
I haven't seen One Night in Miami, but I've heard mixed things on King's direction. Nothing bad, but mostly that it was solid if not awards-worthy. But again, I think the political climate right now could boost these women up regardless (not saying that's right/wrong, just speaking objectively).
It's very possible that the Academy will just nominate Zhao, but something tells me if they go for more women, they will nominate King and Fennell. If not, I think King has the edge.
1. Zhao is a lock. Between her and Fincher for the win.
2. King
3. Fennell
Reichardt is a longshot.
It will probably be three women, one Asian man, and Fincher as the nominees. Fincher will then win and the internet will go bananas for the following two weeks.
If I was a female director, I would feel so patronized by all of these nonsense conversations surrounding gender equity. Anyone who gets nominated, besides Zhao, is going to get there because people will feel obliged to nominate them, not because they were the best. This is most obvious with Regina King, who also has the added explosive conversations around race in America that would factor in to her possibly getting nominated. People are being bullied into feeling guilty for things that they have no control over. I can't help but think that this would also factor in with voters.
It is all political right now. Promising Young Woman, for example, could only come from the mind of a third-wave feminist as the film is pure misandrist fantasy, so Emerald Fennell would make it, as people seem to be seriously duped by modern feminist discourse. That would be the only explanation for nominating such a pulpy film.
I am worried about the backlash Fincher will receive when he inevitably wins his richly deserved Oscar for having such an indelible career. Another reason I abhor identity politics; no matter what happens or who wins, someone will be called racist, sexist, xenophobic, misogynistic etc. because the 'right person' didn't win.
So Tom Hooper, Morten Tyldum, and Mark Rydell were all nominated in directing for their overwhelming "excellence"? Please. Miss me with that BS. Regina King could become the first black female director nominee EVER! That's the least these racist Academy voters can do! I'm rooting for all black, just like Issa Rae.
@Dorian everyone already reviles these nominations and most people don't blindly assume that a nomination instantly equals excellence. You created a false dichotomization so you can justify being a race-obsessed ideologue. And this is the whole problem; you only care about identity, not talent as the rest of your post clearly proves.
I was serving two aims, Paul. One to counter your racist bullshit, but the other to advocate for King's directorial efforts. She's fully deserving of her upcoming Oscar nomination.
Oh, I forgot! All criticism equals racism these days...
When you post blatantly racist shit, yeah.
There’s a very real possibility that David Fincher will be the only white man nominated for Best Director this year, and if that happens, I have to imagine the Academy will realize how bad it would look to give him the win.