For the first time in 93 years, the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences have nominated two women for Best Director.
On Monday, March 15, Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas announced Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell would go face-to-face against some of the best directors in the industry at the 2021 Oscars. Zhao created the heartbreaking drama Nomadland, while Fennell weaved a tale of sweet justice in Promising Young Woman.
The nominations also marked the first time a female woman of color was nominated.
It’s a bittersweet moment to realize that it took almost a century for two female directors to be recognized at the Oscars.
In fact, only one woman has ever won in the category: Kathryn Bigelow. In 2009, Bigelow won for the film The Hurt Locker. In her acceptance speech, the director described it as “the moment of a lifetime.”
And she wasn’t wrong. Prior to Bigelow, only four women had ever been recognized in the category.
Lina Wertmüller became the first female nominee in 1977, following critical acclaim for the Italian war-drama, Seven Beauties.