Women shut out in top category of Directors Guild of America Awards

No women were nominated for the best feature film of the year, despite plenty of buzz for projects like The Woman King and Women Talking

By Katie Chow  |  January 12, 2023 | 1:56am
Aux News Directors Guild of America
Women shut out in top category of Directors Guild of America Awards
Previous winners Jane Campion and Chloé Zhao at the 2022 Directors Guild of America Awards Photo: Jesse Grant

Awards season is in full swing, and the Directors Guild of America Awards has announced the nominees for its 2023 ceremony. Up for best feature film are Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Todd Field (Tár), Joseph Kosinski (Top Gun: Maverick), Martin McDonagh (The Banshees Of Inisherin) and Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans). As Variety points out, it’s surprising that this group does not include James Cameron or Baz Luhrmann, but it’s also back to being a list of all dudes. While Kwan’s inclusion is also notable after all of last year’s nominees were white, women-helmed projects like Women Talking, Till, and The Woman King have all been surrounded by significant awards buzz for the past few months.

Jane Campion won last year for The Power Of The Dog, and Chloé Zhao took home the top prize for Nomadland in 2020. Nominated alongside Promising Young Woman’s Emerald Fennell, the Eternals director became the second-ever woman to score the award after Kathryn Bigelow received the honor for 2009's The Hurt Locker; her following effort Zero Dark Thirty lost out to Ben Affleck and Argo. Greta Gerwig was nominated for 2017's Lady Bird but did not go on to be recognized for her work on Little Women. (Come on, Barbie!)

Women directors have fared better in the DGA Awards’ other categories. For first-time feature film, Charlotte Wells, Alice Diop, Audrey Diwan, and Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic all received nominations. The category was also dominated by women nominees last year, with Maggie Gyllenhaal receiving the award for The Lost Daughter. Alma Har’el also notably won for 2019's Honey Boy.

Over on the DGA Awards’ television side, Aoife McArdle earned a nomination for her work on Severance in the drama category, while Amy Sherman-Palladino got a nod for comedy. In movies for television and limited series, Deborah Chow and Helen Shaver were nominated for their respective work on Obi-Wan Kenobi and Station Eleven.

 
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