For the first time in nearly 78 years, the Golden Globes are finally recognizing more female directors.
Earlier today, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced the list of nominees for the 2021 Golden Globes. Directors Chloé Zhao (“Nomadland”), Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) and Regina King (“One Night in Miami”) made history as the first three women to all be nominated at the same time in the best director category, with Zhao being the first woman of Asian descent to do so. Other nominees include Aaron Sorkin (“The Trial of the Chicago 7”) and David Fincher (“Mank”).
This is the first time that more than one woman at a time was nominated in the best director category in Golden Globes history. In fact, only five female directors have been nominated in this category throughout the awards’ entire run. Ava DuVernay was the last woman nominated in the category in 2015 for her work on “Selma,” while Barbra Streisand remains the only woman to ever win best director in 1984 for “Yentl.” Streisand was nominated again in 1992 for “The Prince of Tides.” The other female nominees include Jane Campion(“The Piano” in 1944), Sofia Coppola(“Lost in Translation” in 2004) and Kathryn Bigelow(“The Hurt Locker” in 2010 and “Zero Dark Thirty” in 2013).
The Golden Globes have long snubbed women in the filmmaking industry. During the same broadcast in 2018, Natalie Portman criticized the lack of female nominees while presenting the best director award and mentioned in her speech, “And here are all the male nominees.” Several women in the industry continued to clamor for equal representation such as when “The Farewell” director Lulu Wang told the 2020 Golden Globes in a Variety interview to “nominate more women” and when “The Crown’s” Olivia Colman wore an Equal Representation for Actresses ring after winning best actress in the same night.
Here’s to hoping that this year’s nomination of three women in a major category is a step further towards actual representation of women in the industry. The 78th Golden Globes airs on Feb. 28 on NBC, and will be hosted by Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.
Art by Jan Cardasto
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