A new series by Juan Carlos Ojano
Will any female directors be nominated this year at the Oscars? It's too early to say but sexism has been a long-standing problem in the history of cinema and the Oscars -- that's often reflected in who is invited to enter the canon and who is not. Year after year, films directed by women have been routinely ignored. Seeing five men in Best Director lineups during awards season has long been a given. Only seven women have been nominated for Best Director. Ever. Last season, though, featured what we hope will prove a turning point.
In this series, we will share an alternate list of five films directed by women per Oscar vintage, based on what was eligible. This is not to say that the films we'll cite will always be better than the ones nominated. Take this list more as a reminder that the work by women has always existed. That should be reason enough for celebration. This is Through Her Lens...
2020 - THE 93RD OSCARS
THE NUMBERS
While facing one of its biggest challenges in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, cinema has also found itself in a watershed moment as productions directed by women became a significant part of the filmgoing culture. This uptick in numbers also reflected the available number of contenders come awards season. Out of the 366 films included in the Reminder List of Eligible Films of 2020-21 (93rd Academy Awards), 103 (28.1%) were directed/co-directed by women.
THE RESULT
Come Oscar time, history was made: for the first time in history two female directors were nominated at the same time.
NOMINEE 1
Emerald Fennell for the black comedy revenge thriller Promising Young Woman. Meshing its candy-like visuals and soundtrack with a sinister take on trauma and loss, the film is a wild beast on its own. Fennell is unafraid to make the big swings, curating scenes with a threatening whiplash of humor, dark yet deadpan. The audience is not dictated on what they would feel; instead, Fennell unfurls each scene in a rhythm that is hard to pin down. Moments of levity are strategically placed to make us feel on the edge, not let us slack. The places where it decides to cut away and where to stay make for an uncomfortable interrogation on how we see violence against women, in its various iterations. Streaming on HBO Max
NOMINEE #2
Chloé Zhao proved the eventual winner for the Best Picture-winning drama Nomadland. Intimate and sweeping at the same time, Zhao’s vision of post-recession Americana is incredibly empathetic. Within the vastness, she finds the personal. Whether it be the large Amazon workplace or the Badlands National Park, Zhao uses visual ingenuity and sonic dimensionality to immerse us in the world of Fern, a protagonist that may seem unknowable but whose emotional state is uncannily familiar. Scenes with star Frances McDormand among real-life nomads come to life with ease and incisive observation. The result is a piece of cinema that's deeply moving, an elegy to those who departed and an ode to those who remain. Streaming on Hulu.
OTHER FEMALE-DIRECTED FILMS NOMINATED:
The other female-helmed films that received Oscar nominations last season were (in alphabetical order): Burrow*, Crip Camp, Emma., The Letter Room*, A Love Song for Latasha*, The Man Who Sold His Skin*, The Mole Agent, Mulan, My Octopus Teacher, The One and Only Ivan, One Night in Miami…, The Present*, Quo Vadis Aida?*, and Time. (*not eligibility in Best Picture / Best Director)
AN ALTERNATIVE SET OF FIVE
Kirsten Johnson - Dick Johnson is Dead
With a subject matter potentially teetering towards morbid curiosity, Johnson approaches it with full conviction, mining something poignant. Without hesitation, she explores the bizarre and the terrifying through her meticulous staging of possible death scenarios for her father as well as his interpretation of what heaven must look like. Johnson utilizes these techniques to accentuate the moments of raw honesty that come in between. Contrast to the staged sequences, her real-life footage feels intimate yet respectful. This is not just a journey for the titular character but also for the filmmaker. Johnson etches that path with a clear-eyed outlook on their complex relationship with death and the loss that happens even before it. Streaming on Netflix.
Kelly Reichardt - First Cow
Right from the very first scene, Reichardt demands our full attention on every corner of the frame. Her blocking and framing is so precise that one has to really lean into each scene and become an active observer. Her rhythm is so precise that she manages to make even the most mundane of moments loaded with meaning and intention. The stretches of silence in the film not only provide the narrative room to breathe, but for us to actually seek out our place within the scene. In turn, we become participants in the story. Pinches of humor and tension give texture to the platonic relationship at the core of the film. None of her choices feel like she’s showing off; rather, it’s as if she invites us to feel the film as she sets the pace. Streaming on fuboTV, Showtime, and DirecTV.
Heidi Ewing - I Carry You with Me
The narrative undertakings of this film are monumental. A story of passionate romance, a tale of survival, and a hybrid of fiction and non-fiction filmmaking, Ewing weaves these elements together to fashion something distinctive, singular and powerful. A couple’s first kiss is captured with simplicity and yet magnified in its significance. Is it only erotic drunkenness or an instantaneous spark that led them to that moment? Maybe both. Ewing chooses to not give us answers. Instead, she allows the moment to make us feel. For a film that also sinks its teeth into themes like homophobia, immigration, and displacement, she never loses sight of the human moments that effortlessly intersect those as it goes down to the most personal. Available to rent on various platforms.
Isabel Sandoval - Lingua Franca
With a protagonist seemingly impenetrable (by choice or otherwise), Sandoval’s direction gives us hints of the character’s headspace through a series of images that constantly put us in a state of investigation. This in turn makes this film very sensorial, one that makes us more conscious of how a shot makes us feel as opposed to how it directly informs us. Sandoval achieves an organic intersectionality of themes, something that is difficult to nail. Scenes are not always seen in full coverage. Instead, we are left to piece the fragmented images together. We are in a constant state of unease, but Sandoval modulates it in each scene beautifully. In its own way, the beauty that emerges from the protagonist’s ordeal is both haunting and absorbing. Streaming on Netflix and Tubi TV.
Eliza Hittman - Never Rarely Sometimes Always
Gripping from start to finish, the film’s emotional wallop would not be possible without Hittman’s skillful hand. We plunge right into the protagonist’s experience with very near proximity without making it feel exploitative. Instead, Hittman establishes a spatial trust between the protagonist and the filmmaker. This closeness lends to more opportunities for intimacy and empathy, as evidenced by her various visual choices. A seemingly regular ultrasound becomes a major turning point in the character’s stance on her pregnancy. But ultimately, the brilliance of her direction could boil down to the titular scene: as she sets aside the visual relentlessness, an off-center, steady long take becomes one of the year’s most heart-wrenching moments. Streaming on HBO Max and DirecTV.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
Kitty Green - The Assistant
Radha Blank - The Forty-Year-Old Version
Julia Hart - I’m Your Woman
Malgorzata Szumowska - The Other Lamb
Josephine Decker - Shirley
What did your dream ballot look like?