Women are making great films, but they're still getting ignored by the Academy

Celine Song and Greta Gerwig's films "Past Lives" and "Barbie" were nominated for best picture, but they were both left out of the best director category at the Oscars.

Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic; Phillip Faraone/Getty Images

• This year, a historic three films directed by women made the cut for best picture at the Oscars.
• But only one of those directors, Justine Triet, will compete for best director. 
• Celine Song ("Past Lives") and Greta Gerwig ("Barbie") were shut out — and it's a pattern.

In a historic nominations slate, three of the ten best picture nominees at the 2024 Oscars were directed by woman — an all-time high.

But on a more disappointing (though not unexpected) note, only one of those women earned a nomination for best director. "Barbie," "Anatomy of a Fall," and "Past Lives" will all compete for best picture at the Oscars in March. But only Justine Triet, who directed "Anatomy of a Fall," will compete against Jonathan Glazer ("The Zone of Interest"), Yorgos Lanthimos ("Poor Things"), Christopher Nolan ("Oppenheimer"), and Martin Scorsese ("Killers of the Flower Moon") for best director.

The snubs for Greta Gerwig, who helmed the billion-dollar box-office hit "Barbie," and "Past Lives" director Celine Song are notable. Both received screenplay nods ("Barbie" in adapted, "Past Lives" in original) at this year's Oscars. And to wit, both were also nominated for best director at the Golden Globes among a similar crowd, though the award went to Nolan.

But their lack of inclusion speaks to a pattern. Only eight women have ever been nominated for the Oscar for best director, including Triet this year. Lina Wertmüller, Sofia Coppola, Emerald Fennell, and Gerwig (for "Lady Bird") have all been nominated for the award, but only Kathryn Bigelow ("The Hurt Locker"), Chloé Zhao ("Nomadland"), and Jane Campion ("The Power of the Dog") have ever won it. Campion is the only female director to have ever been nominated twice.

The category has only made room for two women in the history of the oscars, when Zhao and Emerald Fennell ("Promising Young Woman") were both nominated in 2021. But frequently, it's entirely bereft of female directors last year; at the 2023 Oscars, no woman was nominated for the award. Other films have found themselves in the "Past Lives" and "Barbie" predicament as well: "Women Talking" in 2023, "Selma" in 2015, and "The Prince of Tides" in 1992, were all nominated for best picture, but directors Sarah Polley, Ava DuVernay, and Barbra Streisand, respectively, were shut out of their category.

This year, the dissonance is more striking than ever. "Past Lives" is semi-autobiographical, with Song adapting her own life as both screenwriter and director — and its star Greta Lee was also snubbed for best actress. Gerwig and Margot Robbie (also shockingly snubbed for best actress) brought a cultural touchstone to screen, and clearly it was worth acknowledging in other categories.

It all begs the question: who directed these films? Gerwig's first three solo films as a director — "Lady Bird", "Little Women," and "Barbie" — were all good enough to make the best picture cut. But to this day, only one has ever gotten her in the best director running.

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