When the Golden Globes nominees were announced last week, a little bit of history was made. Ava DuVernay, director for her Martin Luther King Jr. biopic Selma, became the first black woman to be nominated for best director. DuVernay is actually only the fifth woman of any race to be nominated for best director (and only one woman has ever won—Barbra Streisand for Yentl). Kathryn Bigelow has been nominated twice (for Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty). Steisand was nominated again for The Prince of Tides. Jane Campion was nominated in 1993 for The Piano and Sofia Coppola was nominated in 2003 for Lost in Translation.
Truth be told, the lack of female nominations stems from the lack of female directors accepted in the industry in general. In 2013, only 6 percent of the top 250-grossing films were directed by women. Against this backdrop, DuVernay’s achievement is even more incredible …
