Oscars criticised for failing to nominate any women directors: “The Academy doesn’t value women’s voices”

The nominations for this year’s Oscars were announced today (January 24), with no women being nominated for Best Director.

The nominees include Steven Spielberg, Martin McDonagh, Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, and Ruben Östlund, for The Fabelmans, The Banshees Of Inisherin, Everything Everywhere All At Once and Triangle Of Sadness respectively.

• READ MORE: Oscars 2023 nominations: see the full list

However, many pointed out that Women Talking, which was nominated for Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay, could have been recognised for director Sarah Polley.

Gina Prince-Bythewood was recently nominated for a BAFTA for directing The Woman King, while Aftersun writer-director Charlotte Wells was also snubbed from the category.

“After back-to-back years where a female filmmaker won the best-director Oscar, women were shut out of the category entirely today,” commented New York Times reporter Kyle Buchanan.

After back-to-back years where a female filmmaker won the best-director Oscar, women were shut out of the category entirely today.

— Kyle Buchanan (@kylebuchanan) January 24, 2023

The organisation Women In Film criticised the Academy for omitting women directors this year, saying in a statement obtained by #Oscar: “Once again, Academy voters have shown that they don’t value women’s voices, shutting us out of the Best Director nominations.

“An Academy Award is more than a gold statue, it’s a career accelerator that can lead to continued work and increased compensation.

“That’s why WIF will continue to advocate for the work of talented women directors like Sarah Polley’s Women Talking, Gina Prince-Bythewood’s The Woman King, Maria Schrader’s She Said, Chinonye Chukwu’s Till, and Charlotte Wells’ Aftersun, to be included.”

Take a look at some more social reactions here:

No women directors. #Oscars are tired. https://t.co/8b8zVwqhvy

— Dark Angela Gyetvan (@notgyet13) January 24, 2023

Once again, we're having a conversation about women directors being shut out of the Oscars race.

— Jazz Tangcay (@jazzt) January 24, 2023

No women nominated as best director for an Oscar pic.twitter.com/tCURXa62vD

— mira (@mirahalle) January 24, 2023

The #Oscars when asked about women directors pic.twitter.com/u8TdB0yW5B

— semi-active on here (@fagittarius_jd) January 24, 2023

Paul Mescal was nominated for his first Oscar in Wells’ Aftersun, and was among several Irish artists to be recognised by the Academy.

The Banshees Of Inisherin saw Colin Farrell receive his first nomination, while Irish-language feature The Quiet Girl was also recognised.

The Oscars will take place at the Dolby Theatre in Ovation Hollywood, Los Angeles, and will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.

You can take a look at the full list of Oscars nominations here. The 95th Oscars will take place on Sunday, March 12 at 8pm ET/5pm PT.

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