Now it’s the Directors Guild of America’s turn. Their nominees have just come down the wire, and they were all somewhat expected — I suppose they could have thrown a bone to an international filmmaker, but in the end, they decided not to.
Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
Guillermo Del Toro, “Frankenstein”
Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”
Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet”
In DGA history, many filmmakers have been nominated for directing a foreign-language film. That said, and given that this year marks a watershed moment for international cinema, the most notable snubs from today’s announcement are Jafar Panahi (“It Was Just An Accident”), Joachim Trier (“Sentimental Value”), and Kleber Mendonça Filho (“The Secret Agent”).
Other high-profile snubs include Clint Bentley for the acclaimed period drama “Train Dreams,” as well as both of Richard Linklater’s films this year, “Blue Moon” and “Nouvelle Vague.”
Coogler becomes the fifth Black director ever nominated, and the first since Spike Lee for “BlacKkKlansman” (2018). The previous ones were Jordan Peele for “Get Out” (2017), Barry Jenkins for “Moonlight” (2016) Steve McQueen (“12 Years A Slave”) and Lee Daniels for “Precious” (2009). No Black director has ever won.
Zhao is now only the third woman to receive multiple DGA nominations, following Jane Campion (“The Piano,” “The Power of the Dog”) and Kathryn Bigelow (“The Hurt Locker,” “Zero Dark Thirty”). Overall, she is one of just 12 women to have ever earned a DGA nomination.
Meanwhile, the nominees for “First-Time Theatrical Feature Film” have a few gems in there, including two titles I included in my “most underrated” list for 2025.
Hasan Hadi, “The President’s Cake”
Harry Lighton, “Pillion”
Alex Russell, “Lurker”
Charlie Polinger, “The Plague”
Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby”
More to come …
