Disappointingly but somewhat unsurprisingly, the Best Director category at the 92nd Academy Awards has only recognized men. In a true power move, Natalie Portman had the names of women directors embroidered on her Dior haute couture cape as a way of acknowledging the talent that so often goes unrecognized at major award shows.
Natalie Portman embroidered her Dior cape with all of the female directors who weren't nominated for #Oscars. Check out her explanation here. pic.twitter.com/kyyo2wVMZf
— Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) February 10, 2020
The filmmakers’ names included are: Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim), Alma Har’el (Honey Boy), Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) and Mati Diop (Atlantics).
Only five women have ever been nominated for Best Director in the Academy Awards’ 92-year history and one has won (Kathryn Bigelow for 2009’s The Hurt Locker).
Portman has used awards shows as an opportunity to make a statement before: at the 2018 Golden Globes, she made a comment about the lack of female-representation while presenting the award for Director – Motion Picture. “And here are all the male nominees,” she said. Unfortunately, if she were to present that category tonight, the zinger would still be relevant.
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