The nominations fell. Expected for February 28, 2021, the 78th edition of the Golden Globes stands out thanks to a record: three women are nominated in the Best Director category.
It should be trivial. It is not so. For the first time, three women are nominated in the Best Director category at the Golden Globes: Chloé Zhao for Nomadland, Regina King for One Night In Miami and Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman. The three filmmakers mark a break in the history of the ceremony. Disgusting but true, no woman had not been named in this category for six years. The last was Ava DuVernay, in 2015, for Selma.
The obvious absence of women was even the subject of a bitter joke from Natalie Portman at the ceremony in 2018. “And now here are the only male nominees“, she had launched in front of the cameras, envelope in hand. But the problem is even more alarming when one looks in the rearview mirror. Variety, in 78 years, only 5 women have been nominated in this category: Ava DuVernay, previously cited, Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Kathryn Bigelow and Barbra Streisand. The latter was, in 1984, the very first woman named. She defended Yentl, a film in which she also played the leading role.
Reassuring figures
The pleasant surprise of these new appointments is part of the wind of change that has been blowing in Hollywood for several years. According to Center for Studies of Women in Film and Television of San Diego, the list of the 100 highest grossing films of 2020 has a record number of female filmmakers: 16%. They were 12% in 2019 and 4% in 2018.
Two of the three nominated for this 2021 edition are making their first film. With One Night In Miami, Regina King – Oscar winner for her role in If Beale Street Could Talk in 2019 – follows the fictitious meeting between Mohammed Ali, Malcolm X, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown. The feature film is available on Amazon Prime Video. For his part, Emerald Fennell – also writer of season 2 of Killing Eve – features Promising Young Woman, the story of a woman, played by Carey Mulligan, who takes revenge on the men who crossed her path. No French release date has been announced for the moment.
As for Chloé Zhao, after the success of The Rider, the Chinese filmmaker once again made a strong impression with Nomadland, a dramatic road trip carried by Frances McDormand. Despite the closing of theaters, the film is still dated for March 24 in France. 2021 should be a special year for the director as she will also be released Eternals, big Marvel production expected at the end of the year – if all goes well.
Check out the trailer for “Nomadland” directed by Chloé Zhao: