Women & The Best Director Category
By : Hayden
In the 94-year run of the awards, only seven women have been recognized in the Best Director category. During that time, more than a dozen films directed by a female filmmaker have been nominated for Best Picture. However, the idea of who the director chair belongs to has shifted over the years with more women taking charge and making a difference.
The Hurt Locker
Kathryn Bigelow made Oscars history by being the first female to win in the Best Director category in 2009. Prior to her win, only three others had been nominated in the category, Linda Wertmüller for her work on the 1975 film ‘Seven Beauties’ and Sofia Coppola for 2003’s ‘Lost in Translation’. Following her accomplishment, Bigelow stated – “I hope I’m the first of many women, and of course, I’d love to just think of myself as a filmmaker. And I long for the day when that modifier can be a moot point.”
Nomadland
Chloe Zhao made history in 2021 by becoming the second woman and the first of color to win in the same category. At the same time, Emerald Finnell was nominated for ‘Promising Young Woman’, being the first time two women have ever competed for the award. The film about transient workers in the American West was nominated for six Academy Awards total. Zhao stated backstage after her win – “I’m extremely lucky to be able to do what I love for a living, this win means more people get to live their dreams. I’m extremely grateful.”
Power of The Dog
Jane Campion had considered retiring in 2017, but made Oscars history in 2021 by being the first woman to be nominated for Best Director twice. The New Zealander was nominated for the same category in 1994 for ‘The Piano’, which she won Best Original Screenplay for. This year, she is the only woman nominated. She is up against Kenneth Branagh for ‘Belfast’,Steven Spielberg for ‘West Side Story’, Paul Thomas Anderson for ‘Licorice Pizza’ and Ryûsuke Hamaguchi for ‘Drive My Car’. This will be her second time competing against Spielberg for the award. The Western drama is the predicted winner of both Best Director and Picture!
More Women Behind The Scenes
The number of female nominees has increased over the years, and we can only hope said trend continues into the future. In 2020, Hollywood released a record number of films from female directors. However , the film business has since regressed in 2021 with women comprising 17% of directors on the top 250 grossing movies, down from 18% the year prior. Research from the Center for the Study of Women in Television and Film shows that movies with a female director “employed greater percentages of women writers, editors, cinematographers, and composers than films with exclusively male directors. We love to see women supporting women! The start for change is offering more women in film more opportunity!
Best of luck to Power of The Dog this Academy Award season and all the other female creators nominated. The 94th Academy Awards will be on March 27th on ABC.
