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Till director Chinonye Chukwu and The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood have both responded to their movies being completely snubbed in the Oscars nominations. Neither film picked up a single nod, despite both being critically acclaimed and generating plenty of awards buzz.
Danielle Deadwyler, who plays Mamie Till-Mobley in Till, was regarded as a frontrunner for an Oscar nomination for Best Actress, which made her exclusion from the final list a surprise.
"We live in a world and work in industries that are so aggressively committed to upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards Black women," Chukwu wrote on Instagram, apparently in reference to the Oscars snub. "And yet. I am forever in gratitude for the greatest lesson of my life – regardless of any challenges or obstacles, I will always have the power to cultivate my own joy, and it is this joy that will continue to be one of my greatest forms of resistance."
The caption accompanied a picture of the director with Myrlie Evers-Williams, a civil rights activist who is portrayed by Jayme Lawson in Till. The film is based on the true story of Mamie Till-Mobley, who sought justice after her son, 14-year old Emmett Till, was horrifically murdered in a racist attack. Chukwu both directed and co-wrote the film.
Prince-Bythewood also took to Twitter to address The Woman King being completely shut out from nominations, sharing an article from the LA Times headlined "It's not just the Oscars that fail Black women. It's the entire awards ecosystem." Viola Davis, who stars in The Woman King, was also considered a frontrunner for Oscars recognition. That film focuses on the historical all-female military unit the Agojie, of the Kingdom of Dahomey in West Africa.
Ultimately, no women directors were nominated for Oscars this year and only two Black actors, Angela Bassett (Best Supporting Actress for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever) and Brian Tyree Henry (Best Supporting Actor for Causeway), made it onto the shortlists.
You can see the full list of 2023 Oscars nominations through the link, as well as our roundup of all the snubs and surprises.
