Barbie dominated 2023 from the box office to social media, carving a place for itself within the collective consciousness across the globe. Directed by Greta Gerwig, the film became the highest-grosser from a female director. As a result, it was expected that Barbie‘s dominance would continue at the 96th Academy Awards.
However, the Academy stunned casual fans and cinema lovers by snubbing Gerwig from a nomination in the Best Director category. While Barbie received eight nominations, Gerwig’s efforts to make Barbie a nuanced film were ignored. However, this isn’t the first time a well-deserving female director has been inexplicably snubbed by the Academy. Here are five female directors who deserved the Best Director nomination.
5. Kathryn Bigelow
Kathryn Bigelow has made a name for herself by directing several niche films. She became the first woman to win the Best Director Oscar for her work on the 2008 war drama film The Hurt Locker. However, her next outing, 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty, was an even bigger critical and commercial success. Nonetheless, Bigelow was ignored for the Best Director nomination despite the film receiving five nominations at the 85th Academy Awards.
4. Randa Haines
In 1986, Randa Haines directed the romantic drama film Children of a Lesser God. It emerged as a critical and commercial success, grossing over $100 million. The film received five nominations at the 59th Academy Awards, but Haines was surprisingly left out of the Best Director category in favor of an all-male top 5. As a result, Haines’ snub was not only disrespectful but also inexplicable given the competition she faced.
3. Jane Campion
Jane Campion made waves in Hollwyood with her critically acclaimed 1993 historical drama film The Piano. Campion became only the second woman in the history of the Academy Awards to receive a nomination for Best Director. At the same time, the film also made Campion the first woman to win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. As a result, it was a surprising snub when Campion lost in the Best Director category to Steven Spielberg for Schindler’s List. Campion won the Best Director Academy Award nearly three decades later for The Power of the Dog.
2. Sofia Coppola
Sofia Coppola had already left a mark in Hollywood with her debut film The Virgin Suicides. However, her work on the 2003 romantic comedy-drama film Lost in Translation entered her in the Oscars race. Coppola became the third woman to receive the Best Director nomination at the Academy Awards and also the youngest woman. She was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay, which she won. However, Coppola lost Best Director to Peter Jackson who won for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
1. Barbara Streisand
By the time Barbara Streisand made her directorial debut with 1983’s Yentl, she was already an Oscar winner as an actress. The film earned her appreciation as a director, including a Gloden Globe win for Best Director. However, Streisand was ignored in the Academy Awards race for Best Director. Streisand returned to the director’s chair for 1991’s The Prince of Tides, where she suffered a similar snub for Best Director despite the film’s critical acclaim and box-office success.
