This year’s Oscar nominations seem to indicate that movie-making is still a male-dominated discipline, especially when it comes to directing, writing, and editing.
No women were nominated in the Best Director or Best Screenplay category, while awards for Best Cinematography and Best Editing included only one female nominee.
Following two consecutive years of women nabbing Best Director (Chloé Zhao, Nomadland 2021; Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog 2022) the lack of female nominees in this category is fueling much anger this year.
Popular contenders including Sarah Polley for Women Talking, Gina Prince-Bythewood for The Woman King, Maria Schrader for She Said and Charlotte Wells for Aftersun were all snubbed.
“Once again, Academy voters have shown that they don’t value women’s voices, shutting us out of the Best Director nominations,” the LA-based advocacy group, Women In Film said in a statement.
“An Academy Award is more than a gold statue, it’s a career accelerator that can lead to continued work and increased compensation.”
“…WIF will continue to advocate for the work of talented women directors.”
Writer Roxanne Gay tweeted her disappointment, saying: “Gina Prince-Bythewood did an amazing job directing The Woman King. It was an awesome movie. And most importantly she understands lighting. Even night scenes were legible. The Oscars shut out for her, Viola Davis, and Lashana Lynch is really frustrating.”
Viola Davis missed out on a nomination for Best Actress for her role in one of the biggest blockbusters of the year, The Woman King, as did Danielle Deadwyler for Till.
U.S film critic Robert Daniels pointed out in a searing tweet: “Halle Berry is still the only Black woman who’s won Best Actress. SELMA is still the only film directed by a Black woman to be nominated for Best Picture. A Black Director has never won Best Director; and a Black woman has never been nominated.”
Another year: Halle Berry is still the only Black woman who’s won Best Actress. SELMA is still the only film directed by a Black woman to be nominated for Best Picture. A Black Director has never won Best Director; a and a Black woman has never been nominated. #Oscars2023
— Robert Daniels (@812filmreviews) January 24, 2023
Only two women were recognised for Best Adapted Screenplay: Sarah Polley for her adaptation of Miriam Toews’ 2018 novel, Women Talking, and Lesley Paterson, who shares her nomination with two male screenwriters ( Edward Berger and Ian Stokell) for their adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel, All Quiet On The Western Front, a German-language Netflix film which collected a total of nine Oscar nominations.
For her work in Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, Australian cinematographer Mandy Walker was the only female to be nominated for Best Cinematography — a category that has never been won by a woman. In fact, Walker’s nomination makes her only the third woman in Oscars’ 95-year history to be nominated in this category. Rachel Morrison became only the first to be nominated in 2017 for her work in Dee Rees’ Mudbound, while Ari Wegner became the second last year for her work in The Power of the Dog.
Walker said she is “excited and honoured and proud,” of her nomination, telling The Hollywood Reporter she is glad Elvis is being recognised.
“I know that audiences loved the film, and it did well at the box office,” she said. “This movie in particular, is very special to all of us. It was such a spectacular feat to tackle. We put our hearts and souls into this movie.”
Austrian film editor Monika Willi is the only woman to be nominated in the Best Editing category for her work in Tár, telling Austria’s German-language daily newspaper, Kurier she was “speechless” when she found out about the nomination and that she hadn’t expected it.
“It was a very intensive editing process,” Willi, 54 said. “The film was incredibly well and precisely prepared for the camera. Therefore, we were also able to make a very sharp cut.”
The only category dominated by women (other than Best Actress categories) is the award for Best Costume Design.
American Mary Zophres is nominated for Babylon, Ruth Carter for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Catherine Martin for Elvis and Shirley Kurata for Everything Everywhere, All at Once.
Three-time Oscar winner Jenny Beavan also nabbed her 12th nomination for Mrs Harris Goes to Paris. The 72-year old British costume designer previously won for her work in A Room With A View (1985), Mad Max: Fury Road (2016) and Cruella (2022).
Cate Blanchett secured her fifth Oscar nomination for Tár, while Ana de Armas (Blonde), Andrea Riseborough (To Leslie) and Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All at Once) secured their first-ever nomination.
Yeoh, 60, becomes only the second Asian American to be nominated in this category. Eighty-eight years ago, Merle Oberon was nominated for her role in Sidney Franklin’s The Dark Angel — though at the time, Oberon hid her Indian ancestry.
Michelle Williams also secured her fifth Oscar nomination for her role in The Fabelmans.
Despite the disappointing absence of black actor nominations in the Best Actress category, the Best Supporting Actress category sees more diversity, with nominations for 64-year old Angela Bassett for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, 43-year old Hong Chau for The Whale, and 32-year old Stephanie Hsu, Everything Everywhere All at Once.
Irish actor Kerry Condon is also nominated for The Banshees of Inisherin, a film that collected nine nominations, and Jamie Lee Curtis, for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
It is the 64-year old’s first Oscar nomination — and she shared her beautiful reaction to the news on Instagram:
“THIS IS WHAT SURPRISE LOOKS LIKE!” she wrote, accompanying a few images of her reaction.
“The first is the moment of hearing my name, and then the thrill of my friend, Stephanie’s @stephaniehsuofficial name, and the rest of the nominations and then the best thing of all, a loving embrace for my husband. No filters. No fakery. Just the truth of a moment of joy Captured by a friend.”
The Oscars will be take place on March 12, 2023.