The director of the civil rights drama “Till” condemned Hollywood’s “unabashed misogyny towards Black women” after her film was shut out of the 2023 Oscar nominations.
Chinonye Chukwu’s biographical movie depicts Mamie Till’s fight for justice following the 1955 lynching of her 14-year-old son, Emmett Till.
“We live in a world and work in industries that are so aggressively committed to upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards Black women,” Chukwu wrote in an Instagram post after Tuesday’s announcement of the Academy Awards finalists.
“And yet. I am forever in gratitude for the greatest lesson of my life — regardless of any challenges or obstacles, I will always have the power to cultivate my own joy, and it is this joy that will continue to be one of my greatest forms of resistance.”
“Till,” which Chukwu also co-wrote, boasts a 98% approval rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes. The National Board of Review included “Till” among its Top 10 movies of 2022 and awarded star Danielle Deadwyler with best breakthrough performance.
No female filmmakers are nominated for best director at this year’s Oscars. Chloe Zhao won the category in 2021 for “Nomadland” and Jane Campion won last year for “The Power of the Dog.”
The Academy Awards previously generated the #OscarsSoWhite controversy when only white performers received acting nominations in 2015 and 2016.
“Till” is the first film directed by Chukwu since the 2019 death row drama “Clemency,” which won the Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
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