Women directors are poised to make a major splash at the Australian Directors Guild Awards this year. “For the first time ever, women dominate the major feature film categories with five out of the seven directors nominated for best direction in a feature film (budget A$1 million or over) being women and four of the six nominees in the best direction in a debut feature film category also being women,” Variety reports.
Helmers up for best direction in a feature film include Cate Shortland for Marvel blockbuster “Black Widow,” Sophie Hyde for sex comedy “Good Luck to You, Leo Grande,” and Leah Purcell for revisionist Western “The Drover’s Wife: The Legend of Molly Johnson.”
Purcell is also up for best direction in a debut feature film. Among the titles up for honors in that category are Del Kathryn Barton’s “Blaze,” the story of a young girl who is left catatonic with shock after witnessing a violent crime, and Philippa Bateman’s “Wash My Soul In The River’s Flow,” a documentary spotlighting First Nations singer-songwriters Ruby Hunter and Archie Roach.
The awards will be held December 8. Check out all of the nominees on the Australian Directors Guild’s website.
