Oscar nominations won’t be announced until January 24, but we’re one step closer to knowing which films may score nods. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has released a list of feature films in contention for the night’s top honor, Best Picture: The list includes 336 titles, and 52 of them are directed by women, amounting to about 15 percent of films in the running. Films helmed by women in the Best Picture race include Mira Nair’s inspiring underdog story “Queen of Katwe,” Kelly Reichardt’s ensemble drama “Certain Women,” and Maren Ade’s dark comedy “Toni Erdmann.” Ade’s Cannes hit is on the shortlist for nominations in the Foreign Language Film category.
“To have been eligible for the 2016 Academy Awards, feature films must have played in a commercial theater in Los Angeles County between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 for at least seven consecutive days,” Variety explains “The pics, which have to be exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format, must have a running time of more than 40 minutes. Feature films publicly exhibited or distributed in any manner that’s not a theatrical motion picture release (i.e. on TV or on a streaming service) are not eligible for Academy Awards.”
While there’s an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature, feature-length docs are also eligible for Best Picture. You’ll notice that Ava DuVernay’s examination of slavery and mass incarceration “13th,” Kirsten Johnson’s visual memoir “Cameraperson,” and “Weiner,” a portrait of disgraced NY politician Anthony Weiner co-directed by Elyse Steinberg, are among the the films in contention. However, no doc feature has ever scored a nomination for Best Picture.
The first — and only — time a woman-directed film has been named Best Picture was in 2010 when Kathryn Bigelow’s war drama “The Hurt Locker” took home the prize. The last time a female-helmed film was nominated for Best Picture was DuVernay’s historical drama “Selma,” back in 2015.
The Academy Awards will be held Feb. 26 in Hollywood.
Check out all of the women-directed films eligible for Best Picture below. List adapted from The Academy.
“ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS THE MOVIE” — Directed by Mandie Fletcher
“ALWAYS SHINE“ ”— Directed by Sophia Takal
“AMERICAN HONEY” — Directed by Andrea Arnold
“ARMENIA, MY LOVE” — Directed by Diana Angelson
“AUDRIE & DAISY” (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Bonnie Cohen
“BEAUTIFUL PAIN” — Directed by Tunku Mona Riza
“BRIDGET JONES’S BABY” — Directed by Sharon Maguire
“CERTAIN WOMEN” — Directed by Kelly Reichardt
“CHEVALIER” — Directed by Athina Rachel Tsangari
“CITY OF GOLD” (Documentary) — Directed by Laura Gabbert
“THE DRESSMAKER” — Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse
“ECHO PARK” — Directed by Amanda Marsalis
“THE EDGE OF SEVENTEEN” — Directed by Kelly Fremon Craig
“ELVIS & NIXON” — Directed by Liza Johnson
“EQUITY” — Directed by Meera Menon
“THE FITS” — Directed by Anna Rose Holmer
“FIVE NIGHTS IN MAINE” — Directed by Maris Curran
“GIRL ASLEEP” — Directed by Rosemary Myers
“THE INVITATION” — Directed by Karyn Kusama
“ITHACA” — Directed by Meg Ryan
“KUNG FU PANDA 3” — Co-Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson
“THE LOVE WITCH” — Directed by Anna Biller
“MAGGIE’S PLAN” — Directed by Rebecca Miller
“ME BEFORE YOU” — Directed by Thea Sharrock
“THE MEDDLER” — Directed by Lorene Scafaria
“MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN” — Directed by Patricia Riggen
“MISS HOKUSAI” — Co-Directed by Stephanie Sheh
“MISS SHARON JONES!” (Documentary) — Directed by Barbara Kopple
“MONEY MONSTER” — Directed by Jodie Foster
“NINA” — Directed by Cynthia Mort
“OLYMPIC PRIDE, AMERICAN PREJUDICE” (Documentary) — Directed by Deborah Riley Draper
“OUR KIND OF TRAITOR” — Directed by Susanna White
100 YEARS: ONE WOMAN’S FIGHT FOR JUSTICE (Documentary) — Directed by Melinda Janko
“QUEEN OF KATWE” —Directed by Mira Nair
“THE RED PILL” (Documentary) — Directed by Cassie Jaye
“THE REMAKE — Directed by Lynne Alana Delaney
“SILVER SKIES” — Directed by Rosemary Rodriguez
“SOUTHWEST OF SALEM: THE STORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO FOUR” (Documentary) — Directed by Deborah S. Esquenazi
“SUMMERTIME” — Directed by Catherine Corsini
“SWORN VIRGIN” — Directed by Laura Bispuri
“A TALE OF LOVE AND DARKNESS” — Directed by Natalie Portman
“TALLULAH” — Directed by Sian Heder
“THEY WILL HAVE TO KILL US FIRST — MALIAN MUSIC IN EXILE” (Documentary) — Directed by Johanna Schwartz
“THINGS TO COME” — Directed by Mia Hansen-Løve
“13TH” (Documentary) — Directed by Ava DuVernay
“37” — Directed by Puk Grasten
“TONI ERDMANN” — Directed by Maren Ade
“25 APRIL” (Documentary) — Directed by Leanne Pooley
“THE UNCONDEMNED” (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Michele Mitchell
“WEINER” (Documentary) — Co-Directed by Elyse Steinberg
“WHAT HAPPENED LAST NIGHT” — Directed by Candice T. Cain
“WHITE GIRL” — Directed by Elizabeth Wood
