Snubbed Women Directors
This last year saw great ambition, talent, and heart from a multitude of female directors; when nominaton day came, none were amongst the candidates for Best Director. Here are four films whose directors deserved such accolades this year.
LITTLE WOMEN
Directed by Greta Gerwig
With six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, one marvels how Gerwig didn’t get a second Best Director nomination for Little Women, especially given the source material. It’s another masterful coming-of-age story from Gerwig that is faithful to its author, but modernizes it for a new audience.
ATLANTICS
Directed by Mati Diop Actor-turned-director Diop became the first Black female director to compete at Cannes; her film, Atlantics, won the festival’s Jury Grand Prix. Concerning the plight of workers in Dakar, Senegal who attempt a perilous migration to Europe, it’s also a love story and coming-of-age tale.
THE FAREWELL
Directed by Lulu Wang
The Farewell, written in both English and Mandarin, is an autobiographical effort from the Chinese-born director. It’s an American story of how children of immigrants struggle to balance their Western beliefs and those of their origins.
HUSTLERS
Directed by Lorene Scafaria
Hustlers, about exotic dancers during the 2008 recession, is not a film about the hustle, it’s about family. Women of different ethnicities and body types are shown dancing at the club because, in a culture that often favours one type of woman over the other, all are beautiful.