PREVIEW

Natalie Portman has called out the Academy Awards for snubbing female directors in the 2026 nominations. During an interview with Variety while promoting her film The Gallerist at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah over the weekend, the Oscar-winning actress expressed her dismay at the lack of women nominated for Best Director this year. While Chloé Zhao's Hamnet has garnered eight nods, including in the Best Director and Best Picture categories, Portman pointed out that many of the female-helmed movies released over the past 12 months were shut out. ”So many of the best films I saw this year were made by women," she said. "You just see the barriers at every level because so many were not recognised at awards time.” Portman went on to list Eva Victor's Sorry, Baby, Shih-Ching Tsou's Left-Handed Girl, Nia DaCosta's Hedda, and Mona Fastvold's The Testament of Ann Lee as examples. ”Extraordinary films this year that I think a lot of people are enjoying and loving, but are not getting the accolades they deserve," the 44-year-old added. With her nomination last week, the Nomadland filmmaker became the second woman and the first woman of colour to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director twice. Portman’s new film, The Gallerist, was directed and co-written by Birds of Prey filmmaker Cathy Yan. Co-starring Jenna Ortega, Sterling K. Brown, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the dark comedy is set to hit theatres later this year.
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