Women Directors Again Snubbed As London's BAFTA Announces 2018 Nominees

Minutes after Oprah delivered her earth-shaking speech at the Jan. 7, 2018 Golden Globes, Natalie Portman and Ron Howard arrived at the podium to announce the winner of Best Director.  

Howard thanked the Globes for asking them to ‘be here to present the award for Best Director’ before long-time activist Portman added: ‘And here are all the male nominees.’

The male nominees wore deer-caught-in-the-headlights looks on their faces as the TV cameras panned their faces. But Twitter went to bat for Portman, incredulous that she had the moxie to mimic and build on Oprah's momentum -- an act that few could follow. 

Two days after 'Time's Up' made history at the Golden Globes, the BAFTA (British Academy Film Awards) nominations were announced. One again, nominees in the best-director category are all-male. 

This year, the BAFTAs nominated Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049), Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water), Luca Guadagnino (Call Me by Your Name), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk), and Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri). 

Vanity Fair writes that directors like Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Patty Jenkins (Wonder Woman), and Dee Rees (Mudbound) were shut out, as was Jordan Peele, whose film, Get Out, has already been lionized as a modern horror classic. Lady Bird and Get Out were also snubbed in the best-film category, which instead includes other awards-season front-runners like C.M.B.Y.N., Darkest Hour, Dunkirk, The Shape of Water, and Three Billboards. 

Five female directors were recognized in other categories, including Angelina Jolie in the foreign-language film category for 'First They Killed My Father'.