Where are the Women Directors?

Since 1929 — the year of the very first Academy Award ceremony — only one woman has ever won the Academy Award for Best Director (Kathryn Bigelow The Hurt Locker). As of 2018, only five women have ever been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director:

Lady Bird helmer Greta Gerwig became that fifth nominee this year. She joined Lina Wertmüller (Seven Beauties), Jane Campion (The Piano), Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation) and barrier buster Kathryn Bigelow in the exclusive club.

Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins didn’t make the cut even though she was widely regarded in the press as a contender. The film was a commercial and critical hit. It grossed $821 million worldwide and was predicted as a serious contender for a Best Picture nomination, having received one of 11 nominations for the Producers Guild of America’s Darryl F. Zanuck Award. No dice.  That the film was listed as one of the American Film Institute’s Top Ten Films of 2017 didn’t make a difference.

Perhaps there’s only room at the table for one woman at a time.  So here’s a modest proposal– Let’s split the award in two.
One award for Best Female Director and one award for Best Male Director.  That would level the playing field. Arguments about “diluting the award” are irrelevant and really only apply to men (since women have been by-and-large excluded).  Its Awards are divided in sports and in the Actor categories. If the difference is between women being excluded or recognized for their ability among their peers, I say split the category.

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