No Oscar nominations again for female directorsStudies show that Oscar nominations encourage more people to see a film, but there is a lack of recognition across the industry for women.
by The Conversation
08-03-2023 10:42
in Entertainment
Chloe Zhao won the Best Director Oscar for Nomadland in 2021. Image: The Conversation.
There's an ongoing joke in our household. When I win at cards it's luck. When my husband wins it's skill. I often wonder if this is also how the industry perceives female film directors. And I always feel that when a male director makes a great film, he's a great director - but when a female director does, it's down to luck or a team effort .
--
There has again been much criticism of the Academy Awards in 2023 for its lack of diverse representation among nominees.
Danielle Deadwyler and Viola Davis are noticeably absent from best actress nominations and despite Sarah's Polley's Women Talking being nominated for best picture, there are no women nominated for best director. Gina Prince-Blythewood and Chinonye Chukwu, the directors of Woman King and Till, could also easily have been considered.
ALSO READ: A new invasive mosquito has been found in Kenya
--
No Oscar nomination It's not just the Oscars. There is a lack of recognition across the film industry, including in the UK. Only two women have ever won a best directing Bafta, though Charlotte Wells picked up the outstanding debut award for her direction of Aftersun at this year's ceremony.
There are barriers at every stage for award nominations, starting with how many films are directed by women. In the UK, only 19% of releases in 2022 were directed by women, up from just 11% in 2017. This is a constant battle. And, in fact, the number of films directed by women from ethnic minorities has actually dropped in recent years.
According to a 2016 study by Directors UK, the reasons for this bias are complex and exist even when the gatekeepers are women. The same study found persistent ingrained misogyny and stereotypes of women as less capable. Hiring in the film industry is often last minute, ad hoc and reliant on word of mouth , leading to poor HR practices and entrenched nepotism. New entrants are often expected to work for free and conditions for parents and carers are poor.
--
Even when a film has been made, the awards selection process entails more prejudice. Distribution executives decide which films to promote based on what has been successful before. Bafta and Oscar members are drawn from an industry lacking in diversity and it has been questioned whether they even watch all of the films. With limited time they are likely to select the films they perceive as contenders.
ALSO READ: Teachers' impact: What makes a great teacher?
Do awards really make a difference? Studies show that Oscar nominations encourage more people to see a film. Audiences may not know the name of a director, but they are more likely to get another shot from funders if they've had previous success. Funders and distributors see each film as gamble - anything that improves a director's odds helps in their eyes.
Consequently, a major award such as an Oscar is more significant the earlier it happens in a director's career. Andrea Arnold was already in production for Red Road when her short film Wasp won an Oscar in 2004, but (along with her Jury Prize at Cannes for Fishtank) it undoubtedly helped propel her career.
Andrea Arnold accepts her Oscar for Wasp in 2005. It doesn't always work. Harry Wootliff's debut short film Nits was nominated for a Bafta in 2003 but it was ten years before she directed her first feature, Only You. Having won accolades for Ratcatcher (1999), Lynne Ramsay had an almost ten-year hiatus between Morvern Caller (2002) and We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011).
Awards aren't just about improving chances in the eyes of funders. Women are already behind men in self-confidence and self-esteem, which are hard to maintain without recognition when you are continually disadvantaged and face sexism on and off set. And things don't necessarily get easier as careers progress. With increased caring responsibilities and pressure to earn, film directing is a high risk and expensive occupation. Female directors often make huge sacrifices to get their films made.
ALSO READ: Ultraview launches with LGBTQI Pay TV bouquet
Film award recognition The recognition of an award can mean the difference between stopping and continuing. I've been making short films since 2009 which have won a few awards at film festivals. Being recognised by people in the industry I hold in high esteem has spurred me on at times when I have almost given up.
In 2022 I was awarded the inaugural BFI Chanel Filmmaker Award for my first feature film, The Wolf Suit. Actress Tilda Swinton, who was chair of the jury, took my hands in hers and told me to never stop making films. This small act will always stay with me.
If you are a female director who is also black or queer, deaf or disabled, the challenges are even greater as different prejudices intersect (deaf and disabled filmmakers are particularly underrepresented). Class is also an important factor, with a disproportionate number of privately educated people in the industry.
What is the solution? Public funding agencies are prioritising films by ethnically diverse, queer and female filmmakers and are starting to also look at socioeconomic background. However, the BFI's budget was cut by 10% this year and with an ever-decreasing pot their efforts are limited.
There is too much pressure on these agencies to fund films that turn profit rather than funding new voices. In Scandinavia, funding commissioners are on short, fixed-term contracts to ensure there is a continual rotation in decision makers. This is something th
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
29/05/2026
Genelec announces V2.1 for Aural ID binaural headphone monitoring application posted: 29/05/2026
Aural ID 2.1 enhances binaural monitoring for stereo and ...
29/05/2026
At just 20 years old, Sean Melia from Summerhill Co. Meath has been revealed as the winner of Super Garden 2026. Sean is the youngest ever contestant and winner...
No Oscar nominations again for female directorsStudies show that Oscar nominations encourage more people to see a film, but there is a lack of recognition across the industry for women.
