Ryan Coogler’s Sinners could make him the first Black best director, Kathryn Bigelow could be the first woman to win best director twice – and there are more record-breaking contenders to come
In Venice, Telluride and Toronto, the red carpets have been rolled up and the dust has settled on the film festivals which traditionally function as Oscar launchpads. Back in Hollywood, publicists are recalibrating campaigns and pundits are placing their bets on the big films and performances of the upcoming awards season.
A few key contenders are still yet to be seen, but at this stage of the race, one thing seems clear: come next March, records will be broken. A victory for any of the three current frontrunners would mean unprecedented scenes on the podium.
Venice’s big hit was ticking clock nuclear thriller A House of Dynamite, whose director, Kathryn Bigelow, became the first woman to win the Oscar for best director back in 2009 with The Hurt Locker. Should she triumph for a second time, Bigelow would become the first woman to win the director Oscar twice in the awards’ 96-year history.
The same would also be true of Chloé Zhao, whose drama Nomadland was nominated for six Oscars, in most of the key categories, and won three including best director and picture, in 2021. Zhao’s latest, Hamnet - the toast of both Telluride and Toronto - was adapted by Maggie O’Farrell from her own novel and stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William Shakespeare, torn apart by the death of their son. The film mixes awards-friendly literary fittings with a keenly feminist narrative and passionate turns from hot young stars who also seem shoo-ins for nominations.
