Oscars: Coralie Fargeat Gets Sole Female Best Director Nod

This year, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated one female director: Coralie Fargeat for The Substance.

The other nominees in the category are Sean Baker (Anora), James Mangold (A Complete Unknown), Jacques Audiard (Emilia Pérez) and Brady Corbet (The Brutalist).

Payal Kapadia, who directed All We Imagine as Light, was omitted from the lineup on Thursday. Fargeat also received a best original screenplay nomination.

“Sometimes passion is the most important thing. And that’s what Coralie Fargeat’s vision has shown us,” Eric Fellner, co-chairman of Working Title films and co-producer, said in a statement. “We were blessed with two amazing actresses who gave their all, Demi Moore and Margaret Qualley, and an incredibly talented French crew that made it all happen. On top of that, a great distribution company Mubi who got the film out to a global audience. Huge respect to Coralie for the passion and drive she showed by writing directing and producing this extraordinary film. We are all so grateful to the academy for these nominations.”

The Academy has long been criticized for its lack of female director nominees. Previously, the Academy had only nominated a woman nine times (eight women have been nominated. Jane Campion received a nod twice) in the best director category (Fargeat is the ninth female nominee), and only three have won in the century long history of the  Academy Awards: Campion, Chloé Zhao and Kathryn Bigelow. Women nominated include Lina Wertmüller, Sofia Coppola, Greta Gerwig, Emerald Fennell and Justine Triet.

Last year, Triet was the only woman nominated for Anatomy of a Fall. The year before that, no female director received a nod, while two years ago, Campion won in the category. Zhao, who was nominated in 2021 alongside Fennell, won.

This year, Fargeat and Kapadia also received Golden Globe nominations, but the win ultimately went to Corbet. In the Globes’ history, only three women have won the award for best director. Barbra Streisand, Zhao and Campion are the only women who have won the award, while Bigelow, Ava DuVernay, Regina King, Fennell, Gerwig and Celine Song received nods.