It’s pretty clear after looking at this year’s list of Oscar nominees, women are making places for themselves in every category and shattering glass ceilings in the process. Everyone knows about Greta Gerwig and her nominations for her female-centered coming of age story, Ladybird, but we can’t forget the other women being recognized for their incredible work behind the scenes in the film industry.
And here are all the female nominees …
For starters: Rachel Morrison has made history as the first ever female director of photography to be nominated by the Academy for Best Cinematographer. It took ninety years for it to happen- but it finally did. Whether she wins or not, her amazing work on the Netflix’s Mudbound (2017) did not go unnoticed and her nomination will pave the way for up and coming female directors of photography to follow.
Morrison is also the cinematographer for Marvel’s newest, highly-anticipated superhero blockbuster Black Panther (2018).
Along with Greta Gerwig for her movie Ladybird (2017), Vanessa Taylor is also up for Best Original Screenplay for her work on The Shape of Water (2017) directed by Guillermo Del Toro.
Taylor is also known for co-writing the screenplay for Divergent (2014), a movie adaptation of the popular science-fiction young adult novel written by Veronica Roth. It was also announced that she is also co-writing a live-action reboot of Disney’s Aladdin (1992) alongside Guy Ritchie and John August to be released in the year 2019.
In the same category, Emily V. Gordon and comedian Kumail Nanjiani have also been nominated for Best Original Screenplay for their movie The Big Sick (2017), detailing their heartwarming, but more importantly true love story.
British costume designer Jacqueline Durran was nominated twice for her work designing wardrobe for both Beauty and the Beast and Darkest Hour. Durran is also known for her work on Macbeth and Pride and Prejudice.
Along with Durran, Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer have also received two nominations in the category of Production Design for their work on Beauty and the Beast and Darkest Hour.
Tatiana S. Riegel is up for Best Editing for her work on I, Tonya, the film re-telling the true and controversial story of American figure skater, Tonya Harding. Margot Robbie, who plays the title role, is also up for Best Actress for her performance as Tonya.
Pixar’s very own producer, Darla K. Anderson, is up for Best Animated Feature film along with director Lee Unkrich for her work on the hit 2017 animated film Coco. Anderson is known for her lengthy career producing other hit Pixar films including A Bug’s Life (1998), Monsters, Inc. (2001), and Cars (2006).
Speaking of Coco, remember that song “Remember Me?” Kristen Anderson-Lopez and her husband Robert Lopez wrote that one and have both been nominated because of it for Best Original Song. If they sound familiar, Kristen and Robert were also the couple who wrote “Let It Go” from Disney’s Frozen (2013), which won in the same category in the 2014 Oscar season.
And last certainly not least, for Best Live Action Short Film, Katja Benrath stands as the only female director nominee in the category for her live action short film “Watu Wote/All of Us”. “Watu Wote” was Benrath’s graduation project, based on a true story of terrorism in Kenya. Little did Benrath know she would go from German film student to Oscar nominee in no time at all.
Whether you host an Oscars viewing party for you and your friends every year or don’t care very much for award shows to begin with, the bottom line is that these nominations are worth taking note of. These women are the frontrunners of a new age of female filmmakers that is slowly but unapologetically infiltrating each and every male-dominated Oscar category. It’s imperative that we acknowledge the lesser known, but still exceptional work being done by women like these behind the scenes — because there will be a day where we can’t count them all on our fingers and toes combined.