the gold rush

Chloé Zhao, Emerald Fennell Among 2021 DGA Nominees

Chloé Zhao was nominated for Nomadland. Photo: Arnold Turner/Getty Images for Freedom Road Productions

This morning, the BAFTAs noticed that women can direct feature films, too, and this afternoon, the Directors Guild of America followed suit. The DGA announcing its award nominations today, and two women were nominated for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film, a record for the organization and the first time two women will compete in the same category. The aforementioned women — Chloé Zhao, nominated for Nomadland, and Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman — will also compete against some men: Aaron Sorkin, David Fincher, and Lee Isaac Chung. Two more women — Radha Blank and Regina King — are also set to compete in the First-time Director category. Typically considered a bellwether for the Oscar nominations, 15 of the last 17 DGA winners have gone on to win the Best Director award. Tune into the ceremony on April 10 to find out the winners, and see the full list of nominees below:

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film
Lee Isaac Chung, Minari
Emerald Fennell, Promising Young Woman
David Fincher, Mank
Aaron Sorkin, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Chloé Zhao, Nomadland

Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-time Feature Film Director
Radha Blank, The Forty-Year-Old Version
Fernando Frías de la Parra, I’m No Longer Here
Regina King, One Night in Miami
Darius Marder, Sound of Metal
Florian Zeller, The Father

Chloé Zhao, Emerald Fennell Among 2021 DGA Nominees