Quentin Tarantino, Bong Joon Ho, Sam Mendes, Todd Phillips, Martin Scorsese: five directors, all nominated for the Golden Globes, but no women. The same applies to the category "best script". After the nominations for the Golden Globes 2020 were announced on Monday, there was criticism. Charlize Theron, herself nominated as best actress, called it absurd not to shortlist a director. Filmmaker Alma Har'el demanded her own categories for directors and scriptwriters.
"It's obvious that they have no consciousness at all," Har'el told Variety magazine, referring to the preliminary preselection of Hollywood foreign press for the Golden Globes. Rather, those in charge of the old pattern of behavior persisted in basking in male excellence and ignoring the voices of women and black people. "They pay no attention to these new voices and do not appreciate them to the extent that they honor men."
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Alma Har'el: Last January, her film "Honey Boy" premiered at the Sundance Festival
In the 77-year history of the Golden Globes, only five directors have so far been nominated: Barbra Streisand, Jane Campion, Sofia Coppola, Kathryn Bigelow and Ava DuVernay. Only Streisand won the trophy for "Yentl" (1984). The Israeli director Har'el was even this year even for her film "Honey Boy" acted as a candidate for a nomination. The autobiographical drama tells of the growing up of actor Shia LaBeoufin in the care of an alcoholic and drug addicted father. LeBeouf provided the script and plays his own father.
Actress Charlize Theron described the Los Angeles Times nominations as "frustrating" and a slap in the face for female directors. "We will continue to raise awareness until we finally hear and hear our story," she announced.
At the same time, she made it clear that recognizing women does not automatically mean reducing the work of men. Even men could tell good and important stories about and about women, such as Jay Roach with "Bombshell". Therein, Theron plays the journalist Megyn Kelly, who messed with other colleagues with the then boss of Fox News, Roger Ailes, also because this is said to have molested her sexually. For this role, Theron is nominated for a Golden Globe.
At least in one secondary category, two directors can hope for an award at the Golden Globes on January 6th. "The Farewell" by Lulu Wang (German theatrical release: December 19) and "Portrait of a Woman in Flames" (read a review here) by Céline Sciamma have been nominated for Best Foreign Language Films.