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As it has been since the beginning of 2020, some of Hollywood’s finest talents have gathered together to celebrate the achievements of visual media in the year 2019, only this time, the focus has been narrowed to the figure that many consider to be the most important of any production: the director. Saturday January 25th saw the 72nd Annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards in Los Angeles, during which the directors of last year’s most acclaimed film, television, and commercials were commemorated for their work. With categories ranging from Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film to Outstanding Directorial Achievement in
Children’s Programs, there was a small but significant number of awards to hand out during the evening, and many of the industry’s most esteemed figures turned up to see who would receive the honor of being named one of 2019’s best directors.
From its beginnings in 1936, the Directors Guild of America has served as a prominent labor union meant to protect the rights of its members, both creative and economic, working to ensure that directorial crew members are given everything they need so that the project they are directing – be it a film, television episode, or thirty-second commercial – can be constructed in the most efficient and satisfactory manner possible. While best known for representing directors, the DGA also includes other members of the directorial crew including assistant directors, unit production managers, production associates, and several others categories. As of 2020, the number of Guild members is over 18,000 and counting from around the world.
Each year, each of these thousands of DGA members cast their votes as to whom they believe to have directed the finest that the previous year’s visual media landscape had to offer, then gathers together for one night to announce who has received the most votes. Last Saturday, the most recent of these gatherings took place, and the limited number of DGA Awards were handed out one by one to those who had received the most votes in their respective categories. Among the winners from the ceremony were Saturday Night Live alumni Bill Hader, winning Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Comedy Series for the Barry episode “ronny/lilly”, to Her director Spike Jonze, taking home the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials award for his work at commercial production company MJZ.
It was the awards for film, however, that most people had anticipated the most. For Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert were awarded for their Netflix documentary American Factory, while Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature Film was given to Honey Boy director Alma Har’el, becoming the first woman and the first Israeli person to win in the category. Most significant of them all, however, was Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film, and the winner of the award, the guild’s most prestigious, was Sam Mendes for the World War I epic 1917, earning his second win in this category after 1999’s American Beauty.
It was the awards for film, however, that most people had anticipated the most. For Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary, Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert were awarded for their Netflix documentary American Factory, while Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Feature Film was given to Honey Boy director Alma Har’el, becoming the first woman and the first Israeli person to win in the category. Most significant of them all, however, was Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film, and the winner of the award, the guild’s most prestigious, was Sam Mendes for the World War I epic 1917, earning his second win in this category after 1999’s American Beauty.
Also nominated in this category were Bong Joon-ho for the South Korean capitalism critique Parasite, Martin Scorsese for the decade-spanning gangster story The Irishman, Quentin Tarantino for the 1960’s Hollywood throwback Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Taika Waititi for the farcical Nazi satire Jojo Rabbit. In spite of the fact that only one of the five nominees were able to receive the honor in the end, each director was still allowed to give a speech to thank the Guild and those who had supported their work on their respective films.
In the case of Quentin Tarantino, much of his speech time was used to address the plight of labor unions such as the DGA, many of which are struggling to support those they represent in today’s day and age. “In a world that’s… kind of seen unions… crumble, and the effect that that’s had on… all these areas of business and manufacturing,” Tarantino states, “…to see that our union is so strong, to see that the union in this town is so strong.”
Once again, however, it was Bong Joon-ho giving probably the most memorable of the speeches. With the assistance of his Korean-English translator, Joon-ho commends the actors he had worked with on Parasite for all they have done to make the film as strong as it is. “A lot of people comment on how in my films the genres switch constantly, and the tones switch, and that is all because of my great actors,” Joon-ho claims, “they provide the stability and the realistic atmosphere that allows me to explore such various genres”.
Once again, however, it was Bong Joon-ho giving probably the most memorable of the speeches. With the assistance of his Korean-English translator, Joon-ho commends the actors he had worked with on Parasite for all they have done to make the film as strong as it is. “A lot of people comment on how in my films the genres switch constantly, and the tones switch, and that is all because of my great actors,” Joon-ho claims, “they provide the stability and the realistic atmosphere that allows me to explore such various genres”.
World Wide Motion Pictures has a long history with the Directors Guild of America Awards Ceremony. Since 1983, our company has made it a mission to send some of our finest representatives to attend the award celebrations..This year was every bit as enjoyable as it has been in all the previous years we’ve attended. It truly is an honor to see such amazing talent be recognized for their efforts.
Once again, we congratulate the winners and nominees honored at this year’s Directors Guild of America Awards. We look forward to seeing what other remarkable works you have to offer the world in the near future.
