Culture, Entertainment, Film, News

2021 Oscar nominations showcase a new wave of diversity in the film industry

0 101

Featured image: “Oscar” by lincolnblues (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)


The announcement of the 2021 Oscar nominations mark a historic moment in film industry history.

For the first time, two female directors, Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell, are up for the best director award. Kathryn Bigelow is the only female director to have won this award with Hurtlocker in 2010. There have only been 5 female directors nominated for best director since the beginning of the Oscars in 1927. Currently female directors only make up 10.7% of directors in the industry. The Guardian reported that 17% of the top grossing films in 2020 where directed by woman, the highest ever recorded.

It is also the most diverse year on record with nine of the twenty acting nominees being POC. The Oscars has previously been heavily criticized for its lack of representation and white Eurocentric focus. Directors such as Spike Lee did not attend the award show in 2016 and called for a boycott of the award ceremony, following the predominantly white acting nominations.

Hopefully, this year marks a change and a more inclusive film industry.

Another standout of this year is the number of British nominees, including Olivia Coleman, who won an oscar in 2019 for The Favourite, she is nominated again this year for her role in The Father. Daniel Kaluuya is also among the British nominees for his standout performance as Fred Hamilton in Judas and the Black Messiah. Riz Ahmed is the first Muslim actor of Pakistani descent to be nominated for the award.

The Oscars will take place as usual this year. However, social distance regulations will be in place and it will be held on the 26th of April as opposed to its usual time in February.

The full list of nominations is available here

About the author / 

Kiah-Azriel Freer

Leave a reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

More News Stories:

  • Bakar @ Albert Hall live review – Bakar dares to dream big 

    Featured image and gallery: Georgina Hurdsfield The gloomy refrain “I hate the facts, I hate the situation” echoes affirmatively among the gothic furnishings of the Albert Hall. The fact is that 5000 fans have converged under the ornate roof; the situation being the first of Bakar’s two sold-out shows in Manchester. The aforementioned lyrics couldn’t…

  • Of Mice & Men @ Rebellion review – metalcore masters tear it up

    Featured image and gallery: Ameena Ceesay So-Cal band Of Mice & Men have spent the better part of a decade rising through the metalcore ranks. A couple months from the release of their 8th studio album, Tether, and as part of their UK and Europ…well, Germany tour, they grace the Rebellion stage and proceed to…

  • Anne Marie @ AO Arena Manchester review – A perfect and unexpected theatrical experience

    Featured Image and gallery: Ben Redshaw From West End childhood star and karate world champion to BRIT Award-winning popstar, Anne-Marie arrives at the AO Arena on the back of her third studio album, Unhealthy.  Leah Kate, an American singer best known for her post-heartbreak songs, is the opener. Kate tells the story of sliding into…

  • Manchester creatives celebrate identity, community and queerness at the 2023 Bound Art Book Fair at Whitworth Art Gallery

    Featured image and photography: Anna Klekot The Bound Art Book Fair returned to The Whitworth art gallery this month, featuring over 65 exhibitors showcasing a range of creative work including zines, books and posters. The gallery was filled with independent publishers and artists showcasing creative projects, and featured free artist talks open to the public,…