Why Are There No Best Director Female Golden Globes Nominees?

Art and media have a way of reflecting the world that we live in. In our world, Hollywood is that mirror.

The Golden Globes nominations were announced this week.

The problem with the nominations is that there are no female directors on the list of best director nominees.

Three of my favorite films this year are nominated. They were also directed by women. But their directors were not nominated.

Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood) and Kasi Lemmons (Harriet) are just as good as their male counterparts. But, as usual, they have been overlooked.

I am thoroughly disgusted. According to the press reports, the films and their directors are judged by accomplishment and not by the specific gender of the nominee. However, if one were to look at the list of nominees and winners, past and present, there is a clear pattern. Both in front of the screen and behind the screen, white men are the preference. Women and people of color are tolerated, but only up to a point.

I wish that we lived in a world in which factors such as race and gender meant nothing. I wish that we lived in a world in which we were judged as individuals and not by external factors. But we live in a world in which race and gender play a role in how we live our lives.

Maybe one day we won’t. Until that day, we have no choice but fight for what should be naturally built-in opportunities and rights.

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The Farewell Movie Review

The best stories are universal. Regardless of the time it is set in, the place it is set in or the culture that it is set in, these stories are timeless and speak to all of us.

Writer/director Lulu Wang’s new semi-autobiographical film, The Farewell, is set in China and New York City. Billi (Awkwafina) was born in China and raised in New York City. When her beloved grandmother, known as Nai Nai, is diagnosed with cancer with only months to live, the family decides to keep it from her. Under the pretense of a fake wedding, the family comes together in China.

But Billi is troubled by the lie. She must decide if she will be the one to spill the beans or go along with the scheme.

This movie is one of the best films of 2019. Up to this point, Awkwafina has built her career on comedic roles in films such as Ocean’s Eight and Crazy Rich Asians. In this film, she plays a young woman who is dealing with an emotionally tough decision. The humor comes from the narrative, not from broad jokes or an outrageous character. In playing this toned down character, Awkwafina proves that her acting abilities go way beyond comedy.

The thing that stood out to me about The Farewell is that anyone can relate to these characters and their story. At some point, our parents and grandparents reach that point in their lives when their health is not what it was. It is then up to the younger generations to make decisions, which are frequently never easy and rife with challenges.

I absolutely recommend it.

The Farewell is presently in theaters.