Natalie Portman wears list of female directors on Oscars outfit
Natalie Portman has made a pointed statement on the Oscars red carpet, saluting the female directors who missed out on a nomination in her outfit.
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Natalie Portman has made quite a statement on the Oscars red carpet, donning a Dior cape embroidered with the names of snubbed female directors.
The actor and mother-of-one echoed the public sentiment on Twitter following the release of this year’s Academy Award nominations, saluting the female directors who missed out.
“I wanted to recognise the women who were not recognised for their incredible work this year in my subtle way,” Portman said, pointing out the names sewn in gold thread in the trimming of her cape.
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Names on the cape included Lorene Scafaria (Hustler), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Marielle Heller (A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood), Melina Matsoukas (Queen & Slim), Alma Har’el (Honey Boy), Céline Sciamma (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) and Mati Diop (Atlantics).
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
It’s not the first time Portman has held an awards show to account for snubbing female filmmakers. While presenting the best director award at the 2018 Golden Globes, the actor quipped “and now, here are the all male nominees” before announcing the names.
Only five women have ever been nominated for best director at the Academy Awards – with than number remaining the same this year.
In 2010, Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win an Oscar for her movie The Hurt Locker.
The 2020 Oscar contenders for the directing prize are Martin Scorsese for The Irishman, Todd Phillips for Joker, Sam Mendes for 1917, Quentin Tarantino for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Bong Joon Ho for Parasite.
The omission of women from the category this year caused outrage on social media and has even spawned a special ad campaign by non-profit Give Her a Break.
“The Academy stole our Oscars. So we stole their ads,” the company’s Twitter page reads.
“GiveHerABreak.org replaces ads during The Oscars with films from female directors they ignored,” it said.
The campaign features a live stream of the Oscars, featuring ads for female-directed films during commercial breaks.
Originally published as Natalie Portman wears list of female directors on Oscars outfit