Every Black Director Nominated for an Oscar, From John

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In 2019, Spike Lee turned solely the sixth Black director to obtain an Oscar nomination within the Academy’s historical past for his work on “BlackKklansman.” But thus far, no Black filmmaker has gained in that class.

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John Singleton, “Boyz N the Hood” (1991) • Two years after Spike Lee was handed over for a nomination for “Do the Right Thing,” John Singleton turned the primary African American to earn a Best Director nomination for his star-studded drama set in South Central L.A. That yr, Jonathan Demme gained the award for “The Silence of the Lambs.”

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Lee Daniels, “Precious” (2009) • Eighteen years handed earlier than a second African American filmmaker was acknowledged: Lee Daniels, for his gritty portrait of a younger lady in search of to beat a childhood of poverty and abuse. In one other Oscar first, Kathryn Bigelow turned the primary feminine director to win the Oscar, for “The Hurt Locker.”

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Steve McQueen, “12 Years a Slave” (2013) • British director Steve McQueen gritty drama about American slavery picked up 9 nominations, together with one for his directing. While the movie gained Best Picture (and McQueen earned a statuette as a producer), he misplaced the directing prize to “Gravity” filmmaker Alfonso Cuarón.

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Barry Jenkins, “Moonlight” (2016) • Jenkins’ underdog indie pulled off a significant upset, beating front-runner “La La Land” for Best Picture. But Damien Chazelle claimed the directing prize for the modern-day musical. (Jenkins did take house the statuette for Best Adapted Screenplay.)

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Jordan Peele, “Get Out” (2017) • Peele turned the newest actor-turned-filmmaker to earn a Best Director nod, for his function filmmaking debut. Peele gained an Oscar for his authentic screenplay however Guillermo del Toro gained Best Director for “The Shape of Water.”

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Spike Lee, “BlackKklansman” (2018) • Despite broad popularity of such movies as 1989’s “Do the Right Thing” and 1992’s “Malcolm X,” the pioneering filmmaker earned his first nomination many years into his profession for this fact-based story of a Black undercover cop who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan.