Is this another year where it will be one filmmaker fighting for the last Best Director nomination? At this point, it appears so. Previous nominee Paul Thomas Anderson (“One Battle After Another”) and 2021 winner Chloe Zhao (“Hamnet”) are very safe bets. Ryan Coogler, who was snubbed for “Black Panther,” should make it for “Sinners.” We’d also expect Joachim Trier to earn his first nomination for “Sentimental Value.” Neither Coogler nor Trier is a lock, however, and the rest of the field is nipping at their heels.
READ MORE: “Hamnet” Wins TIFF 2025 People’s Choice Award
At this point, the Director’s branch is almost dominated by international filmmakers. It’s one reason eight of the last 25 nominees in this category were neither American, British, nor Australian. And only less than half of those 25 nominees were born in the U.S. This is a great trend for Jafar Panahi, the director of the Palme d’Or-winning “It Was Just An Accident,” Park Chan-wook, who helmed “No Other Choice,” and Kleber Mendonca Filho, the director of “The Secret Agent.” Even Oliver Laxe wouldn’t be that much of a surprise if he crashed the party for “Sirat.” But there are a ton of bigger names looking to land that final nomination, too.
“Bugonia’s” two-time nominee Yorgos Lanthimos, “Frankenstein’s” Guillermo del Toro, “Jay Kelly’s” Noah Baumbach, “Is This Thing On?” maestro Bradley Cooper, “Nouvelle Vague’s” Richard Linklater, and “A House of Dynamite’s” Kathryn Bigelow are all campaigning for recognition from their peers. Moreover, will the branch reward Jon M. Chu if he lands the unexpected second “Wicked” chapter, “Wicked For Good”? And like Cooper, can Josh Safdie arrive “late” to the party with “Marty Supreme”? Is his brother Benny Safdie still in the mix after a surprise Best Director win at Venice for “The Smashing Machine”? Yes, this category is beyond competitive. Expect a lot of “snubs” from this category after the nominations are announced on Thursday, Jan. 22. [Posted Sept. 24]
LOCKED
Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another”
Chloe Zhao, “Hamnet”
ALMOST THERE
Ryan Coogler, “Sinners”
Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value”
IN THE MIX
Noah Baumbach, “Jay Kelly”
Kathryn Bigelow, “A House of Dynamite”
James Cameron, “Avatar: Fire and Ash”
Park Chan-wook, “No Other Choice”
Jon M. Chu, “Wicked For Good”
Bradley Cooper, “Is This Thing On?”
Guillermo del Toro, “Frankenstein”
Kleber Mendonca Filho, “The Secret Agent”
Yorgos Lanthimos, “Bugonia”
Richard Linklater, “Nouvelle Vague”
Jafar Panahi, “It Was Just an Accident”
Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme”
LONGSHOTS
Clint Bentley, “Train Dreams”
Derek Cianfrance, “Roofman”
Scott Cooper, “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere”
Hikari, “Rental Family”
Luca Guadagnino, “After the Hunt”
Oliver Laxe, “Sirat”
Benny Safdie, “The Smashing Machine”
Best Picture
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Original Screenplay
Adapted Screenplay
International Feature Film
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