‘Till’ director Chinonye Chukwu criticises Oscars “misogyny”
Chinonye Chukwu, the director behind the recent historical drama Till, has criticised the Oscars over its “misogyny towards Black women” after the distinct lack of female nominations in the leading categories for the 2023 Academy Awards.
Till received a nomination for ‘Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role’ for Danielle Deadwyler at the Screen Actors Guild Awards; the same performer also received a ‘Best Leading Actress’ nod at the BAFTAs, yet the Oscars gave no such praise. Telling the real-life story of Mamie Till-Mobley, who fought for justice after her son, Emmett Till, was lynched after an infamous public trial.
“We live in a world and work in industries that are so aggressively committed to upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards Black women,” Chukwu wrote on Instagram on Wednesday, January 25th, posting her statement alongside a photo of herself and the civil rights activist Myrlie Evers-Williams, who is depicted by Jayme Lawson in Till.
Continuing, the filmmaker added: “I am forever in gratitude for the greatest lesson of my life – regardless of any challenges or obstacles, I will always have the power to cultivate my own joy, and it is this joy that will continue to be one of my greatest forms of resistance”.
The 2023 Academy Awards are again coming under fire for their lack of gender representation, despite the event seemingly having taken a step forward after consecutive wins for female directors in 2021 and 2022. Chukwu isn’t the only one who was snubbed for a nomination, with The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood, Aftersun’s Charlotte Wells, and She Said’s Maria Schrader all shut out of the awards show.
Till, starring the likes of Danielle Deadwyler, Whoopi Goldberg, Haley Bennett and Jayme Lawson, is out now in UK cinemas.
Never Miss A Scene
The Far Out Film Newsletter
All the latest film news from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.