LOS ANGELES — The streak of women winning the director Oscar is over at two.
It took 82 years for the first woman to win that award (Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker"), 11 more for the second woman to win (Chloé Zhao for "Nomadland") and just one more for the third (Jane Campion last year, for "The Power of the Dog"). But this year's newly announced field of director nominees is all male.
Perhaps the most notable candidate left out is Sarah Polley, who had appeared on many other awards-season lists for adapting and directing "Women Talking." Polley's film has won awards up and down the circuit for her adapted screenplay and the entire cast (including a SAG nomination for the ensemble), as well as making several lists of the year's top films. However, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences joined BAFTA in snubbing "Women Talking" for best picture and director.
Other top contenders left out of the Oscar directing race included Charlotte Wells, first-time auteur of "Aftersun"; Gina Prince-Bythewood for "The Woman King"; Chinonye Chukwu for "Till"; and Maria Schrader for "She Said."
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