When nominations for the 92nd annual Academy Awards were announced, the headlines wrote themselves: Yet again, no women were nominated for best director, despite the fact that Greta Gerwig's highly praised Little Women made the cut for best picture and adapted screenplay.

Gerwig wasn't the only female filmmaker who made an impressive movie in 2019 – a year when the number of women working as directors, writers, producers, cinematographers and other behind-the-camera positions reached historic highs. Lorene Scafaria did a whiz-bang job directing the fizzy crime caper Hustlers, as did Marielle Heller with A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood.

Washington Post