The Academy is set to honor the first woman to receive an Oscar nomination for directing and an Oscar-winning trailblazer who pushed the conversation about gender equality in the entertainment industry forward. The Board of Governors will present an Honorary Award to Lina Wertmüller and the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Geena Davis, a press release announced.
Wertmüller made history when she scored a directing nod in 1976 for “Seven Beauties,” for which she also received an Original Screenplay nomination. In total, just five women have been recognized in the directing category: Wertmüller, Jane Campion (“The Piano”), Sofia Coppola (“Lost in Translation”), Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker”), and Greta Gerwig (“Lady Bird”). Bigelow is the sole woman to take home the prize.
In our dream scenario, Campion, Coppola, Bigelow, and Gerwig will be the ones to present Wertmüller with her honor. What a powerful gesture — and photo-op — that would make.
Davis won an Oscar in 1988 for “The Accidental Tourist,” but she’s being celebrated for her work off-screen. The longtime champion of women in film founded the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media in 2004 — long before the representation of girls and women became the hot topic it is today. The nonprofit was launched to educate and influence the industry, address gender bias and stereotypes, and preach the importance of powerful role models. “Davis was appointed Special Envoy for Women and Girls in Information and Communication Technologies for the United Nations’ International Telecommunication Union in 2012, and served as chair of the California Commission on the Status of Women,” the source notes. “In 2015 she launched the Bentonville Film Festival to support women and diversity in the entertainment industry.”
The Oscar statuettes will be presented at the Academy’s 11th Annual Governors Awards, set to take place October 27 in Hollywood.
“These Governors Awards given by the Academy each year recognize individuals who have devoted themselves to a lifetime of artistic accomplishment and brought outstanding contributions to our industry, and beyond,” said Academy President John Bailey. “It is with great pleasure that we announce this year’s recipients.”
The fact that the Academy is recognizing Wertmüller and Davis in the same year — and in the wake of #TimesUp — can’t be a coincidence. We’re hoping that these well-deserved honors reflect changing tides in the Academy, and its evolving, increasingly inclusive membership.
