We will forever remember the moment that Natalie Portman called out Hollywood’s imbalance of power at the 2018 Golden Globes with a simple statement announcing the Best Director category: “And here all the all-male nominees.” It instantly went viral, but even in the era of #MeToo and #TimesUp, things are slow to change.
Once again, women were snubbed, this time at the highest levels. Oscars 2020 was bereft of female nominees in the category of Best Director. What’s worse is that women had emerged with some of the best films of the year – read: Little Women, Hustlers, Queen & Slim, and Booksmart were just a few of female-fronted projects that deserved a nod from the Academy.
Portman was not having it. Wearing a Dior couture dress that made a not-so-subtle statement, she went out of her way to remember the women who had been snubbed. Embroidered in gold thread along the border of her cape were the names of Hollywood’s overlooked female directors.
Natalie Portman embroidered her Dior cape with all of the female directors who weren’t nominated for #Oscars. Check out her explanation here. pic.twitter.com/kyyo2wVMZf
— Amy Kaufman (@AmyKinLA) February 10, 2020
Who appeared in this surprising detail? Lorene Scafaria (Hustlers), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Mati Diop (Atlantics), Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim), Alma Har’el (Honey Boy), and Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire). Personally, we would’ve added Joanna Hogg to the list for The Souvenir.
While the statement was powerful – and helped underscore a huge problem in Hollywood that hasn’t been solved after so much talk of change – we can’t help but hope it’s the last time she has to do something like this. Something’s got to give.
