For the first time in the Academy’s nearly 100 years, two women have been nominated for the Oscars Best Director category in the same year.
ChloĆ© Zhao and Emerald Fennell earned nods for their films āNomadlandā and āPromising Young Woman,ā respectively.
Zhao is also the first woman of color to receive the nomination.
The other nominees in this yearās field include David Fincher (āMankā), Thomas Vintergerg (āAnother Roundā), and Lee Isaac Chung (āMinariā).
Fennell and Zhao also received screenplay nominations for their films.
Both films have received a handful of other nominations, most notably for Best Picture and in the categories of Best Actress and Editing.
Nomadland, which received a total of six nominations, is also up for an award for Cinematography.
The duo is the first up for the Best Director category since Greta Gerwigās 2017 nomination for āLady Bird.ā Before Gerwig, only four other women have ever been nominated for the award: Lina WertmĆ¼ller (1976ā²s āSeven Beautiesā), Jane Campion (1993ā²s āThe Pianoā), Sofia Coppola (2003ā²s āLost in Translationā), Kathryn Bigelow (2009ā²s āThe Hurt Lockerā). Bigelow is the only woman to have ever received the award.
According to the Academy, a record number of 70 women have received a total of 76 nominations this year ā most in the Oscarās 93-year-history.
The 2021 Golden Globes kicked off a belated awards season at the end of February, in a virtual show hosted on opposite sides of the country by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
The Critics Choice Awards ā where Zhao and her film took home top awards for Best Director and Best Film – Drama ā on March 7 and were also hosted virtually.
The 93rd running of the Oscars was postponed from February 28 to April 25 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
A representative for the Academy and ABC, which airs the show, confirmed the April date, adding that an āin-person telecast will happenā at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles, where the event traditionally takes place.
Exact details, including how many guests will be allowed inside the 3,400-seat theater, havenāt been announced.