Last year was a truly transformative one for women directors—the year when Greta Gerwig made history as the first woman to have single-handedly helmed a billion-dollar blockbuster with Barbie; the year when Justine Triet became just the third woman in more than 60 years to win Cannes’s prestigious Palme d’Or with Anatomy of a Fall; the year when Ava DuVernay’s heart-wrenching Origin became the first release from an African American woman to compete for Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion; and the year when Celine Song’s Past Lives made the highly unlikely but infinitely well deserved leap from Sundance sleeper hit to awards-season behemoth over the course of several months.
But, when the Oscar nominations were announced on January 23, the best director shortlist didn’t quite reflect this reality. Three of the 10 films in the best picture line-up—Anatomy of a Fall, Barbie, and Past Lives—were directed by women, the most in the Academy’s 96-year history, but only one woman was actually recognized for her directing: Justine Triet. I literally jumped out of my seat when I saw the announcement, but my excitement dissipated slightly when I realized who’d be joining her: Christopher Nolan, Martin Scorsese, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Jonathan Glazer—worthy contenders, to be sure, but Gerwig and Song were especially conspicuous in their absence.
So, as we count down to the Oscars ceremony on March 10, we highlight six women-directed releases to watch (or rewatch) now, including those which deserved more attention from the Academy.
Anatomy of a Fall
With her icy, delightfully slippery, and endlessly surprising courtroom drama, Justine Triet earned not just best director and best picture nods, but also nominations for the film’s slick editing, Sandra Hüller’s enigmatic performance as a novelist accused of killing her husband, and the auteur’s gripping, multilingual original screenplay, co-authored with her own partner, Arthur Harari. The duo look poised to take home a statuette for the latter and, frankly, it’d be a crime if they didn’t: This is a meticulously told story about the professional jealousies, private frustrations, heartbreaking compromises, and devastating lapses of judgement which make up a marriage.
Barbie
Academy voters weren’t entirely immune to the charms of Greta Gerwig’s candy floss-pink feminist fantasia—it got a respectable eight nominations, including best picture, best adapted screenplay, America Ferrera for best supporting actress, and Ryan Gosling for best supporting actor—but the romp’s magnetic lead, Margot Robbie, was notably missing from best actress, as was the filmmaker from best director. It’s a shame, considering that this box office record-breaking pop-cultural phenomenon is exactly the sort of ambitious, large-scale Achievement with a capital “A” that frequently translates to Oscar nods and wins for male directors (think Damien Chazelle for La La Land in 2017, Todd Phillips for Joker, and Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood in 2020; and, indeed, the likes of Nolan and Scorsese this year). Still, I believe that Gerwig’s day will come.
Past Lives
Celine Song’s gentle, ruminative romance is, in many ways, the inverse of Gerwig’s no-holds-barred picaresque, but on Oscar nominations morning, their fates were partially mirrored: its sensitive screenplay was recognized alongside its best picture nod, but Song missed out on a best director slot, and the other unfairly overlooked Greta of awards season, Greta Lee, didn’t make the best actress shortlist, either. Both deserve more praise for their heartfelt, understated work in this tale of childhood sweethearts torn apart by circumstance. If it’s any consolation though, it’s certain that, whatever its final Oscar tally, it’ll be remembered as one of 2023’s best films regardless.
Origin
In her latest emotionally devastating epic, Ava DuVernay does the impossible: taking Isabel Wilkerson’s lauded non-fiction bestseller Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents, a study of the Indian caste system and the hierarchies of Nazi Germany in relation to the long-running subjugation of African Americans, as her source material, she’s ingeniously reconfigured the story to place its Pulitzer Prize-winning writer (as embodied by a regal Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor) at its center. Under her direction, it’s a deeply moving, easily digestible, and unexpectedly funny examination of both centuries of history and the personal joys and anguish of a woman who is wading through it all in search of answers. If that weren’t enough, the auteur did all of this outside of the studio system, shooting across three continents in just 37 days, and ending her journey at the Venice Film Festival, where she was, staggeringly, the first African American woman to present a film in competition in 80 years. Somehow, the Academy still shut it out of all categories—but, it’s a film you need to see, and one that is guaranteed to make you weep.
A Thousand and One
Following its auspicious premiere at Sundance in 2023, where it received rapturous reviews and scooped the festival’s Grand Jury Prize, there was hope that A.V. Rockwell’s tender and touching feature debut—which tracks a single mother (a glorious Teyana Taylor) who decides to steal her son back from the foster care system in ’90s Harlem—could make its presence felt in the Oscar race. In the end, it wasn’t to be, but its wonderfully woozy visuals, thrillingly naturalistic performances, clear-eyed view of a rapidly gentrifying New York, and compassionate depiction of parenthood in the face of unimaginable adversity all make this family saga one in a million.
Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret
Almost universally beloved by those who’ve seen it—though many more seem to have missed it in favor of flashier fare when it hit screens last year—Kelly Fremon Craig’s effervescent take on Judy Blume’s 1970 coming-of-age classic of the same name had an outside chance of securing a best adapted screenplay nod, as well as a nomination for Rachel McAdams’s warm and layered supporting role. It was ultimately snubbed, but is worth watching for countless reasons: the latter’s nuanced portrayal of a dissatisfied mother; the hilarious and poignant script; the note-perfect, era-appropriate fashion and interiors; and Abby Ryder Fortson’s compelling central turn as a pre-teen wrapped up in the excitement and anxieties of adolescence.
