The 2020 Golden Globes were a little disappointing. Ricky Gervais, who tried to address his transphobic tweets in the sickest way, was the host once again. There were also several surprising snubs, specifically in the category of Best Director – Motion Picture, with the likes of Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”), Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”), and Céline Sciamma (“Portrait of a Lady of Fire”) not getting nominations. The nomination list for Best Director – Motion Picture was once again made up entirely of men. Despite the fact that Gervais addressed the female director snubs, saying that he had a word with the Hollywood Foreign Press guaranteeing that it’ll never happen again, it’s still disheartening to not see such talented female directors receive the recognition they deserve. It’s only been two years since Natalie Portman called out the Hollywood Foreign Press Association for doing the exact same thing at the 2018 Golden Globes.
The Oscars also don’t acknowledge female directors that much: Only five women have been nominated for Best Director throughout the years. Yes, awards are not the most important thing. But they do matter insofar as improving recognition and representation is concerned.
Here’s the list of snubs we think shouldn’t have happened:
Greta Gerwig
Unlike in 2018, where Gerwig was nominated for her work in “Lady Bird,” the writer and director of “Little Women” did not receive any nominations in this year’s Golden Globes. How can Gerwig, an Oscar-nominee, get snubbed? “Of course, I’m disappointed. I love the film that we made and of course it’s lovely to be honoured,” said Greta. Let’s give women the credit they’re due.
Me, learning that Greta Gerwig was not nominated for a Golden Globe, after making the best ever version of Little Women which is undoubtedly loving and modern and interesting unlike most period dramas and managed to make both Laurie and Amy likeable and sympathetic characters an- pic.twitter.com/hA592Py79s
— Madeleine (@goodegracious) January 5, 2020
Lulu Wang
Another female director that wasn’t nominated is Lulu Wang, who is behind the film “The Farewell.” But she had a message to Golden Globes in a Variety interview: “Nominate more women. Look at the prejudices in the world. So many films were directed by women and we’re on the top of the list. We have a great, critical audience reception.” Despite the sad news, it’s still good to know that Awkwafina, the lead character in the film, was the first Asian woman who won the Best Actress Award in the musical/comedy category.
#TheFarewell director Lulu Wang's message to the #GoldenGlobes: "Nominate more women" https://t.co/WUeVKi6sno pic.twitter.com/SsHe9Q0J7D
— Variety (@Variety) January 6, 2020
Céline Sciamma
The woman behind the film “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” Sciamma created an all-female cast movie that talked about centuries of patriarchal influence. Coincidentally, the director finds herself in the same situation, as she wasn’t on the list of Best Director – Motion Picture. Men (as usual) dominated.
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The lack of female directors in nominations isn’t just a Golden Globes (or Oscars) problem. It is an industry-wide problem that should no longer be tolerated. On a positive note for gender diversity, “Joker” and “The Irishman” producer Emma Tillinger Koskoff became the first female producer to be nominated for two motion picture drama contenders in the same year. With this, we’re hoping to see more women in the following award shows.
Art by Tricia Guevara
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