Golden Globes Nominates Three Female Directors
by Emily Nagle
For the first time in 6 years, the Golden Globes has recognized female filmmakers, nominating not one, but three women for the best director award this year.
Natalie Portman received media attention at the 2018 Golden Globes for pointing out the lack of female representation in the nominee lineup, remarking, “Here are the all-male nominees.” The women nominated for the 78th Golden Globe Awards are Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman), and Regina King (One Night in Miami). They will be running against David Fincher (Mank) and Aaron Sorkin (The Trial of the Chicago 7).
Women are heavily underrepresented in film, comprising only 16% of directors for the highest-grossing films of 2020. The percentage is slowly increasing each year, but this still demonstrates the gender imbalance in the film industry. In the 77 years that the Golden Globes have run for, five female directors had been nominated — Barbra Streisand (Yentl, The Prince of Tides), Jane Campion (The Piano), Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty); and Ava DuVernay (Selma). Other film award shows exhibit a similar pattern. Over the past 92 years, the Academy Awards has nominated five women: Lina Wertmüller (Seven Beauties), Jane Campion (The Piano), Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) and Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird).
The 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards will air on February 28th, 2021 on NBC.