The 2019 Oscar nominations have been announced, and we can still count every woman who has ever been nominated for Best Director on one hand: Lina Wertmüller, Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Kathryn Bigelow, and Greta Gerwig. That’s right: it’s another year with an all-male directing category. Chloé Zhao’s “The Rider,” Debra Granik’s “Leave No Trace,” Lynne Ramsay’s “You Were Never Really Here,” and Marielle Heller’s “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” were among the best-reviewed films of 2018, but the women-directed titles seem to have flown completely under voters’ radars. “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” is the sole woman-helmed narrative feature to receive any attention — Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actress, and Best Supporting Actor. Still, the Melissa McCarthy-starrer didn’t land a Best Picture nod. All of the films contending for that honor are directed by men.
We all know the Oscars aren’t simply merit-based. So much of what and who gets nominated has to do with how much money is invested in a film’s awards campaign — and women directors are just now starting to be seriously considered for high profile, big budget pics. No one is spending millions upon millions of dollars on an awards campaign for an indie pic like “Leave No Trace” — the film itself cost significantly less than that to make. That’s one of the reasons why it’s so critically important to make sure that we include films like this in awards conversations — to put them on the radar. They can’t buy their way into the race by inundating us with promotions. They lack access and opportunity.
It’s not just the directing race that’s male-dominated. The Cinematography, Editing, Score, and Visual Effects categories are also comprised entirely of male nominees.
It’s not all bad news, though: Nadine Labaki’s “Capernaum” made the cut for the Foreign Language Film category. The drama tells the story of a boy who sues his parents for bringing him into a life full of pain and suffering. “Roma’s” Yalitza Aparicio became the second-ever Mexican Best Actress nominee, following in the footsteps of Salma Hayek. Hannah Beachler made history as the first African American to receive a nod for Best Production Design thanks to her work on “Black Panther.” Two of five titles in the Documentary (Feature) category are directed or co-directed by women: Betsy West and Julie Cohen’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg tribute “RBG,” and “Free Solo,” Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin’s look into Alex Honnold’s solo ascent of Yosemite’s El Capitan.
The Original Screenplay and Adapted Screenplays include one female nominee each: Deborah Davis for “The Favourite” and Nicole Holofcener for “Can You Ever Forgive Me?”, respectively. Both co-wrote the scripts.
Lady Gaga became the second woman to nab both an acting and Original Song nomination. She’s up for Best Actress for “A Star Is Born” and co-wrote the music and lyrics to its central song, “Shallow.” “Mudbound’s” Mary J. Blige was the first woman to score both noms last year.
All five Costume Design design nominees are women. Sandy Powell will compete against herself, as she is up for both “The Favourite” and “Mary Poppins Returns.” Also nominated are Mary Zophres (“The Ballad of Buster Scruggs”), Ruth Carter (“Black Panther”), and Alexandra Byrne (“Mary Queen of Scots”).
The Oscars will take place February 24. Check out the women nominees below. List adapted from Deadline.
Best Picture
The Favourite (Fox Searchlight)
Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday and Yorgos Lanthimos, Producers
Roma (Netflix)
Gabriela Rodríguez and Alfonso Cuarón, Producers
A Star Is Born (Warner Bros)
Bill Gerber, Bradley Cooper and Lynette Howell Taylor, Producers
Vice (Annapurna Pictures)
Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, Producers
Actress in a Leading Role
Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
Glenn Close, The Wife
Olivia Colman, The Favourite
Lady Gaga, A Star Is Born
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Actress in a Supporting Role
Amy Adams, Vice
Marina de Tavira, Roma
Regina King, If Beale Street Could Talk
Emma Stone, The Favourite
Rachel Weisz, The Favourite
Adapted Screenplay
Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Screenplay by Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty
Original Screenplay
The Favourite
Written by Deborah Davis and Tony McNamara
Production Design
Black Panther
Production Design: Hannah Beachler; Set Decoration: Jay Hart
The Favourite
Production Design: Fiona Crombie; Set Decoration: Alice Felton
First Man
Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas
Roma
Production Design: Eugenio Caballero; Set Decoration: Bárbara Enríquez
Costume Design
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Mary Zophres
Black Panther
Ruth Carter
The Favourite
Sandy Powell
Mary Poppins Returns
Sandy Powell
Mary Queen of Scots
Alexandra Byrne
Foreign Language Film
Capernaum (Lebanon) – Directed by Nadine Labaki
Documentary Feature
Free Solo
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Evan Hayes and Shannon Dill
Hale County This Morning, This Evening
RaMell Ross, Joslyn Barnes and Su Kim
Minding the Gap
Bing Liu and Diane Quon
Of Fathers and Sons
Talal Derki, Ansgar Frerich, Eva Kemme and Tobias N. Siebert
RBG
Betsy West and Julie Cohen
Documentary Short Subject
Period. End Of Sentence – Directed by Rayka Zehtabchi
Animated Feature Film
Incredibles 2
Brad Bird, John Walker and Nicole Paradis Grindle
Animated Short Film
Animal Behaviour
Alison Snowden and David Fine
Bao
Domee Shi and Becky Neiman-Cobb
Late Afternoon
Louise Bagnall and Nuria González Blanco
Live Action Short Film
Fauve
Jeremy Comte and Maria Gracia Turgeon
Marguerite
Marianne Farley and Marie-Hélène Panisset
Mother
Rodrigo Sorogoyen and María del Puy Alvarado
Skin
Guy Nattiv and Jaime Ray Newman
Original Song
“All The Stars” from Black Panther
Music by Mark Spears, Kendrick Lamar Duckworth and Anthony Tiffith; Lyric by Kendrick Lamar Duckworth, Anthony Tiffith and Solana Rowe
“I’ll Fight” from RBG
Music and Lyric by Diane Warren
“Shallow” from A Star Is Born
Music and Lyric by Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando and Andrew Wyatt
“When A Cowboy Trades His Spurs For Wings” from The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Music and Lyric by David Rawlings and Gillian Welch
Makeup and Hairstyling
Border
Göran Lundström and Pamela Goldammer
Mary Queen of Scots
Jenny Shircore, Marc Pilcher and Jessica Brooks
Vice
Greg Cannom, Kate Biscoe and Patricia DeHaney
Sound Editing
Bohemian Rhapsody
John Warhurst and Nina Hartstone
First Man
Ai-Ling Lee and Mildred Iatrou Morgan
Sound Mixing
First Man
Jon Taylor, Frank A. Montaño, Ai-Ling Lee and Mary H. Ellis
