There’s been much ado about this year’s Oscar nominees for directing — a list devoid of any women for the second straight year. But in other categories honoring roles behind the camera, according to a new study, women are making some strides toward recognition from the academy.
The overall percentage of female nominees in nonacting categories rose five percentage points from last year, according to the Women’s Media Center report, released Thursday ahead of Sunday’s awards ceremony.
Still, though, women make up only 30 percent of Oscar nominees for nonacting awards. Men held the majority of nominations in these categories by a wide margin, 70 percent.
More female producers were nominated this year for best picture, according to the study, and there was an increase in women nominated for film editing, animated feature, makeup and hairstyling, original score and documentary short. Four of the five nominated documentary shorts have at least one woman at the helm, and in the best score category, the “Joker” composer Hildur Gudnadottir — the first woman nominated for that award in three years, and only the ninth in Oscars history — is favored to win.
In the other 13 categories, including best director and both adapted and original screenplay, the number of female nominees remained the same or dropped. And in some of those fields — cinematography, sound mixing and visual effects — there were no women nominated at all.
As one of the Oscars’ more prominent categories, the all-male directing field has garnered the most attention, especially after a successful year for women-led films, including Greta Gerwig’s “Little Women,” Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell,” Lorene Scafaria’s “Hustlers,” Olivia Wilde’s “Booksmart” and Melina Matsoukas’s “Queen & Slim.”
But in the documentary categories, female filmmakers are prospering. In addition to the women leading the pack for documentary short nominations, four of the five documentary feature nominees have at least one female director: Julia Reichert for “American Factory,” Tamara Kotevska for “Honeyland,” Waad Al-Kateab for “For Sama” and Petra Costa for “The Edge of Democracy.” (The fifth nominated film, “The Cave,” has two female producers — Kirstine Barfod and Sigrid Dyekjaer.)
The success women have experienced behind the camera this year aligns with a steady increase in onscreen representation for women as well as for people of color. Women were the lead or co-lead in 43 of 2019’s top 100 grossing films, up from 39 the previous year, according to an annual study from the University of Southern California’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative.
But more women working offscreen doesn’t necessarily mean their accolades will match up when awards season comes around. While women directed 15 percent of the year’s top-grossing films — a number that has steadily grown over the decade, a different report from the University of California, Los Angeles, found — they were still overlooked by the Oscars, Golden Globes and BAFTAs.
Whether women collect more trophies onstage Sunday or not, there’s good news off the awards stage: Another composer, Eímear Noone, will make some Oscars musical history herself, as the first woman to conduct the ceremony’s orchestra.
Source: Movies - nytimes.com
