This year’s Oscar nominations once again largely ignored women behind and in front of the camera, and especially the black women.
One of the biggest themes that emerged from Oscar nominations was the glaring omission of movies by and starring Black women, including the snub of “Till” star Danielle Deadwyler, who had been widely expected to be nominated for Best Actress for her performance as civil rights activist Mamie Till-Mobley.
In addition, the widely acclaimed historical epic “The Woman King,” directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood, did not receive a single nomination in any category ― even in the technical or craft categories ― despite its impressive scale and scope.
The Oscars have had an abysmal record of overlooking Black stories in general, and of not nominating Black women in particular. Davis and Bassett are among the handful of Black women to have previously received Oscar nominations for leading roles. And in the 95-year history of the Oscars, only one Black woman has ever won the Best Actress Oscar: Halle Berry for the 2001 film “Monster’s Ball.”
Behind the camera, zero Black women have ever been nominated for Best Director.
No women were nominated for the best director Oscar this year
Following two consecutive years of women winning the Best Director Oscar, the Academy completely ignored the many women who directed acclaimed movies this year, nominating an entire category of men for Best Director on Tuesday morning.
Not on the list was Gina Prince-Bythewood, nor was Sarah Polley, who directed “Women Talking.” Or Domee Shi, director of Pixar’s “Turning Red.” Or Charlotte Wells, whose film “Aftersun” showed a tender and introspective side of “Normal People” star Paul Mescal as a young parent. Or Laura Poitras, whose documentary “All the Beauty and the Bloodshed” wove together artist and activist Nan Goldin’s past and present. And on and on and on.
In the 95-year history of the Oscars, only seven women have ever been nominated for directing. Just three have won, all in recent years: Kathryn Bigelow in 2010, Chloé Zhao in 2021, and Jane Campion last year.
Tuesday’s nominations also feel like a step backward from the progress that the Academy has made in recent years, albeit slowly, thanks to a lot of public pressure and scrutiny.
Source: Huffington Post