Last year, Greta Gerwig was one of the five female directors to be nominated for an Oscar in the 90-year history. 

This year, so many talented women made critically-acclaimed films, yet Tuesday morning’s Oscar nominations included no women at all in the Best Director category. For many, it is no surprise considering that the Academy is dominated by white male voters. After last year’s optimism, it seems like the Academy is going backwards.

The disappointing news has caused reactions all over the internet.

The United Nations’ gender equality body got more than 2,800 retweets to their #10yearchallenge, highlighting this disparity.

This tweet got a wave of responses, with some people arguing that the Academy is only focusing on talent rather than filling a female quota.

Liz Tucker, chair of Women in Film and Television, told BBC News: “It just shows how much work we still have to do, and it’s heartbreaking really that some extraordinary work has been overlooked yet again by the Academy.”

Here are five female directors that the Oscars missed this year:

  1. Lynne Ramsay: You Were Never Really Here

The Scottish director is up for Bafta next month for her violent thriller about a war veteran, played by Joacquin Phoenix.

  1. Debra Granik: Leave No Trace

The American filmmaker was previously nominated in 2010 for co-writing Winter’s Bone.

  1. Josie Rourke: Mary Queen of Scots

Given this is the directorial debut for the British theatre director, Josie wasn’t really expecting to get a Best Director nomination.

  1. Marielle Heller: Can You Ever Forgive Me?

The American former actress made her debut behind the camera in 2015 with The Diary of a Teenage Girl.

  1. Chloe Zhao: The Rider

The Chinese director made a significant impression with her second feature The Rider at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, and might have been quite an international bet for a nomination.

 

Feature photo by Avel Chuklanov @chuklanov via Unsplash