r/Oscars • u/Fun-Ferret-3300 • 1d ago
Only 9 women have been nominated for Best Director with 3 wins. Who is your favourite?
Linda Wurtmüller for Seven Beauties (1976)
Jane Campion for The Piano (1993) & The Power of the Dog (2021)
Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation (2003)
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker (2009)
Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird (2017)
Chloé Zhao for Nomadland (2020)
Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman (2020)
Justine Triet for Anatomy of a Fall (2023)
Coralie Fargeat for The Substance (2024)
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u/Aquametria 1d ago
As a film, it's Anatomy of a Fall.
As a specific nom, it's Coralie Fargeat for The Substance.
As a director in general, it's Greta Gertwig.
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u/Admirable-Tap-1016 1d ago
I feel Jane Campion’s underrated here due to recency bias.
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u/Sufficient_Pizza7186 1d ago edited 1d ago
100%
Her full filmography is the most exceptional and interesting imo, so I'd pick her as overall director. Really liked The Power of the Dog but it's not as strong a film as Anatomy of a Fall or as lovable as Lost in Translation.
But The Piano is a top (for me, the top) contender for overall best from these noms and collective filmographies. It won the Palm d'Or (the first film by a woman to receive this honor!) and would have had a strong chance at the Oscar in another year.
I feel like this screenshot should have included both her movies or just The Piano, especially since The Piano was a way bigger deal.
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u/Rose-moon_ 5h ago
My mom didn’t like it but for me Anatomy of a fall is the best film I’ve seen in this decade.
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u/lemonwhiteclaw 1d ago
Promising young women and the substance for me are two really interesting cases of why its so important that diverse talent operates behind the camera. Those are two incredible cases of women telling a story in a way that only they could tell. Whether or not you like the execution is irrelevant but I am always so happy that they were recognized for the osars. So they would be my favorite nominations. HOWEVER, Greta Gerwig's Ladybird is a slam f*cking dunk in everything I just said above and it also generated a near perfect film. So i would say that's my favorite one.
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u/svr001 1d ago
Won't be happy until Julia Ducournau gets a nod
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u/allumeusend 1d ago
She has a film, Alpha, that will be out this year, expected to be in competition at Cannes (though slate isn’t yet announced) so look out for that.
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u/Sufficient_Pizza7186 15h ago edited 14h ago
Agreed. I'd personally add Lynne Ramsay to the list.
For Ducournau, The Substance's nom gives me hope, but it was also bolstered significantly by Demi's star power and that it was in English / Americentric. Anatomy of a Fall was quite accessible as well.
Ducournau's films are very weird and very French, and use actors pretty unknown to the common Academy voter - often a voter barrier. I'll be curious to see if her career goes the route of someone like Claire Denis (who is absolutely revered amongst cinephiles and the international film community but hasn't crossed over to American award shows) or more like Coralie Fargeat.
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u/Lightsneeze2001 1d ago
Lost in Translation, Coppola
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u/ReservoirDog316 19h ago
Yeah no offense to any other movie here, but Lost in Translation is better than most movies in the last few decades, let alone on this list.
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u/frankiekowalski 1d ago
Campion, but for The Piano.
Love the historic nomination but I seriously didn't get what's so special about the directing of Seven Beauties.
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u/Poorhoney421 1d ago
I absolutely love Promising Young Woman.
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u/pwolf1771 1d ago
Casting all these likable guys from television to play all the assholes was a stroke of genius
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u/Kennymo95 1d ago edited 1d ago
I thought it had so much promise but just ended up being ok. Like she should’ve killed the predators she lured back instead of giving them a stern lecture. And the movie establishes that institutions are untrustworthy in delivering justice but in the end she dies with the hope that the police will deliver justice for her murder.
Carey Mulligan gives an amazing performance though.
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u/SerKurtWagner 1d ago
Agreed on the ending, strongly disagree on her becoming a mass murderer making the movie better
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u/oneblindspy 1d ago
Thinking about it, that was a weird point to make indeed
Another thing that I like about the movie is how it says that rape is a societal problem at its core, instead of just having a “men are dirty rapists!” aesop. It shows that women can be shitty and complicit too. Way more nuanced than I expected it to be
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u/Keyblader1412 1d ago
I think part of the point the movie was making is that Cassie is incredibly self-destructive and what she's doing at the beginning of the movie is not good even if it comes from a good place. It's not a rape revenge fantasy, it's a character study, and a very compelling one. As for the police thing yeah that's a bit of a hole but I guess she figured with the repentant lawyer guy she scared earlier in the film she already had an "in" with the justice system, in a way.
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u/Mediocre-Gas-1847 1d ago
Coralie Fargeat
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u/Illustrious_Sea_6219 1d ago
She was robbed man. Idk how Sean baker did it 😭
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u/PityFool 1d ago
I mean, Real Housewives is a ridiculously successful tv enterprise — similarly, a film with trashy people being shitty to each other was bound to be seen as great at some point.
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u/Illustrious_Sea_6219 1d ago
I guess lmao I just think that movie was incredibly basic 😭 it’s just interesting cuz there’s nothing really cinematic about it y’know? Like it’s a type of movie that feels like a Netflix original and it won 5 Oscar’s 😂😂
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u/SurvivorFanDan 1d ago
It seems surprising that Great Gerwig has only been nominated once.
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u/rik1503 1d ago
Is it though? She's only directed 3 films. Usually the Oscars are happy to recognize you once with a Best Director nomination early in you career, but not more than once. Tarantino didn't get his second nod until Basterds, Nolan didn't get nominated at all until Dunkirk. Villeneuve got his second nod with Dune. Even Spielberg (Jaws and Close Encounters) and Scorsese (Mean Streets, Taxi Driver and King of Comedy), missed out several times early on. Kubrick and Hitchcock as well.
Best Director really isn't a category that repeatedly nominates young directors in general.
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u/Schmetts 1d ago
It's Sofia for me, although I think Marie Antoinette is her best film.
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u/SerKurtWagner 1d ago
She deserved a second set of Director/Screenplay nods for Marie Antoinette, and should have gotten her first writing nod for Virgin Suicides IMO
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u/billleachmsw 1d ago
I have seen all but the Wurtmuller film. If I had to choose, my fave would be The Power of the Dog.
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u/HeIsSoWeird20 1d ago
- Fargeat
- Coppola
- Triet
- Campion (The Piano)
- Gerwig
- Campion (Power of the Dog)
- Bigelow
- Fennell
- Zhao
Haven't seen Seven Beauties.
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u/amystake12 1d ago
That’s actually so sad. My favorites here are Lady Bird and The Substance.
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u/m20geekarina 1d ago
If anything 4 out of these 9 have been in the last 5 years, so I expect this number to grow steadily now
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u/DipsCity 1d ago
Damn I am such a basic bitch but Lost In Translation is number one for me
Lady Bird is second
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u/Confident_Bunch7612 1d ago
Power of the Dog and it's not as close as one might think. Loved that movie and its direction all around was topnotch. I think some of the other films have bright spots around, but I don't have much critique for Power of the Dog. Beautiful and great payoff.
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u/random-banditry 1d ago
my fav film of these is a tough call between lost in translation and anatomy of a fall
my favorite director of these is gerwig or campion
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u/thatetheralmusic 1d ago
Probably Coppola because Lost In Translation holds a special place in my heart. The Virgin Suicides is incredible as well though. Hell of a debut film. Bigelow, Gerwig, and Fennell are also incredible respectively. Still really need to see Anatomy Of a Fall and The Substance.
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u/ndarby24 1d ago
I still can not believe she got nominated for Promising Young Woman. God awful movie. Anyway, the correct answer is Anatomy of A Fall! But they are all great except for PYM.
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u/FormerlyMevansuto 1d ago
By far it's Lost in Translation and Lady Bird. I don't really like Gerwig's other movies though.
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u/mandie72 1d ago
Who are the three wins?
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u/Fun-Ferret-3300 1d ago
Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker, Chloé Zhao for Nomadland and Jane Campion for The Power of the Dog
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u/valledweller33 1d ago
Bigelow wasn't nominated for Zero Dark Thirty? What?
Anyway. Her @ #1 for The Hurt Locker
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u/Bcwell1981 1d ago
Katheryn Bigelow. She masterfully glides through several genres and gets the best out of Her Actors. SHE made Keanu Reeves an action Star in Point Break, pumped New Bood into Vampire Genre with Near Dark, Strange Days is My Fav of Her films, Dark Depressing Actioner with Heart. Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker are master classes of being a dedicated Director not afraid of Scale and scope of Film.
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u/Roguesailer 1d ago
I have to say the French got this in the bag; both the substance and anatomy of fall. However, Biglow is a legend and she doesn’t get enough credit for her work.
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u/Edgy_Master 1d ago
I really liked The Hurt Locker. Kathryn Bigelow rightfully won Best Director for that film.
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u/X-cessive-Dreamer 1d ago
Personal favs movie of these is Lost in Translation.
The Power of the Dog I think is the best directed (Hurt Locker right behind) in terms of just sheer directorial feats. TPOTD is honestly extremely underrated how good it is. It should get talked about more imo. Even though Jane won that year everything was overshadowed by The Slap Heard Around the World.
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u/Lil_Artemis_92 1d ago
It’s a tie between Coralie Fargeat for The Substance and Emerald Fennel for Promising Young Woman.
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u/spiderlegged 1d ago
My favorite film out of this list is The Substance. However, I think Gerwig has proven herself Fargeat has not yet. I also love Barbie, and I’m not ashamed to admit it. So Gerwig.
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u/Admirable-Tap-1016 1d ago
The Piano is a masterpiece and Jane Campion is the best director here. The others are also masters (as you are held to way higher standards as a female director - look at Morten Tyldum making it in over Ava Duvernay for example! but Campion is one of the greats.
I think Gerwig and Zhao will get there but Campion is the best here.
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u/coffeysr 1d ago
Lady Bird is a super masterpiece.
Also love Seven Beauties, The Piano, and Lost in Translation.
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u/kashakido 1d ago
My favourite films out of all these are Anatomy of a Fall and Hurt Locker (I'm a sucker for war films). But, I think the most well directed film of these is probably Jane Campion's The Piano
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u/GroovyYaYa 1d ago
Greta Gerwig hands down. I love her films. Female centered without needing to be about a romance (and yes, I know this is slightly hypocritical as I was just complaining in r/movies about the lack of rom coms. Well, good rom coms.
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u/TheSupreme2573 1d ago
Campion for TPOTD is my favorite WIN but The Substance is my favorite of these films and Fargeat’s Is my favorite nomination.
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u/bellestarxo 1d ago
Emerald & Greta
I love that millennial women are finally getting a seat at the table to share their POV. Can't wait to see what they do next.
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u/StillDish2766 1d ago
Embarrassing that Promising Young Woman is on here - but Hollywood loves posh, well-connected Brits
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u/SilkyFandango 21h ago
Jane Campion with both The Piano and PoTD was showing off her absolute mastery of her craft. No matter how you feel, the achievement is undeniable.
On the other hand, since the Academy is making up for lost time now, I think the recent nominations are announcing new, exciting voices that are building fanbases organically and rapidly. Fargeat, Fennell, Gerwig have the whole world hyped for their next projects.
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u/CoatAltruistic49 19h ago
It's a shame Patty Jenkins never got nominated for Monster
Promising young woman really blew me away, it's such a great movie in every way, although I don't necessarily like the music video style cinematography and editing, but it kinda adds to the theme of the movie, so I'm fine with it
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u/WaterBearer21 18h ago
Anatomy Of A Fall. It's nuanced and thought provoking. You could not have crafted a better film.
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u/waterdancer479 16h ago
jane campion is a true talent. my favorite film of these is anatomy of fall though.
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u/syndic_shevek 13h ago
Really surprising to see how little acclaim Lina Wertmüller gets. Do people just not watch movies from before the 1990s?
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u/William_dot_ig 12h ago
1- Lady Bird
2- The Hurt Locker
3- Lost in Translation
4- The Power of the Dog
5- Anatomy of a Fall
6- Nomadland
7- The Substance
8- Promising Young Woman
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u/aheaney15 11h ago
Here’s my ranking of the ones I’ve seen:
- Lost in Translation: 10/10 (one of my favorites!)
- Lady Bird: 9/10 (bordering on a 10, would have absolutely been a worthy Director winner)
- The Substance: 9/10 (fantastic horror movie, and honestly would have been a great Director winner)
- Anatomy of a Fall: 9/10 (worthy Screenplay winner)
- Nomadland: 8/10 (worthy Director winner and not a bad BP winner)
- The Hurt Locker: 8/10 (worthy Director winner, even if I would have preferred Inglourious Basterds to win Best Picture)
- The Power of the Dog: 6/10 (I don’t get the hype behind this one, I would have forgotten it years ago had it not won Director, which was undeserved)
- Promising Young Woman: 4/10 (I hate this movie outside of Mulligan’s performance and maybe also Burnham’s)
Haven’t seen Seven Beauties.
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u/YuasaLee_AL 1d ago
Favorite Movie - Lady Bird
Favorite Director - Jane Campion
Would win my "Best Director" vote for this movie - Lina Wertmuller for Seven Beauties
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u/Dmitr_Jango 1d ago
Fargeat, fairly easily. But Campion's achievement in The Piano is a strong RU. In fact, let's rank them!
- Fargeat
- Campion (The Piano)
- Bigelow
- Campion (The Power of the Dog)
- Gerwig
- Zhao
- Coppola
- Wertmüller
- Triet
- Fennell
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u/capncrunch94 1d ago
Who is my favorite woman? Going to go with all of them OP, because I’m a feminist like that.
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u/Wild_Way_7967 1d ago
The Piano is a masterpiece of filmmaking. Lost in Translation is a true gem. I liked Nomadland, but I tell myself that Zhao’s win was for The Rider.