Oscars 2023: Academy Awards reveal ‘Best Director’ nominees
The Academy Awards is upon us once again, and this year looks as though it may be a bumper iteration, with several high-profile, critically acclaimed features being released over the past 12 months. One particular point of interest at the Oscars is always the ‘Best Director’ award, which was awarded to Jane Campion last year for her film The Power of the Dog, starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
This year’s nominees are now in, so let’s take a closer look at the directors and their films that are ardently praying to scoop one of the most coveted prizes of recognition of the year.
First up, unsurprisingly, is the excellent Martin McDonagh film The Banshees of Inisherin, in which McDonagh was able to get the In Bruges team of himself, Colin Farrell, and Brendan Gleeson to deliver one of the year’s finest pictures. The movie focuses on the simple narrative of two men falling out of their friendship with one another but manages to explore the nature of art, loneliness and morality.
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s Everything Everywhere All At Once has proven to be wildly popular at this year’s awards, and the directing duo have been nominated for one of the biggest prizes in the industry. Michelle Yeoh and Ke Huy Quan delivered excellent performances in the film, telling of a stressed mother exploring the nature of the multiverse.
Steven Spielberg has been in the game long enough to always be considered for a ‘Best Director’ Academy Award, and this year he has been nominated once again for his new film The Fabelmans. The film is loosely based on Spielberg’s own adolescence and his first experiences in creating films. An apt and touching selection for the award, then.
Tár, meanwhile, has drawn widespread critical acclaim this year. Todd Field provided the excellent direction for Cate Blanchett to deliver the performance of a lifetime, so it’s only fair that he is also in the running to take home the ‘Best Director’ Oscar. The film tells of a fictional composer and conductor, Lydia Tár, and her professional downfall.
Oscars 2023: Best Director nominees:
- Martin McDonagh – The Banshees of Inisherin
- Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert – Everything Everywhere All At Once
- Steven Spielberg – The Fabelmans
- Todd Field – Tár
- Ruben Östlund – Triangle of Sadness
Finally, Ruben Östlund has also made his claim to take home the award with last year’s Triangle of Sadness, a black comedy satire on luxury excess, starring Harris Dickinson, Woody Harrelson, and the late Charlbi Dean. Östlund is up against some cinematic titans, but he will be hoping to stand half a chance of winning the big prize.
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