‘Honey Boy’ Director Alma Har’el Rips Golden Globes for All-Male Director Noms: ‘They Do Not Represent Us’

Not one woman was nominated in the Best Director category on Monday

Alma Har'el at the Power Women Summit 2019
Court McAllister
Beatrice Verhoeven, PWS

“Honey Boy” director Alma Har’el took to Twitter following the 2020 Golden Globes nominations to voice her frustration with the lack of female directors nominated in a year that was stacked with critically acclaimed films directed by women.

“Good morning to everyone that’s writing me about the #goldenglobes I feel you but know this,” she tweeted on Monday. “I was on the inside for the first time this year. These are not our people and they do not represent us. Do not look for justice in the awards system. We are building a new world.”

In a follow-up tweet, she mentioned some of the directors she felt were snubbed, including Lulu Wang (“The Farewell”), Melisa Matsoukas (“Queen & Slim”), Marielle Heller (“A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood”) and Greta Gerwig (“Little Women”). Of course, Har’el’s own film, “Honey Boy,” was shut out of any nominations as well.

Instead, Bong Joon-Ho (“Parasite”), Martin Scorsese (“The Irishman”), Quentin Tarantino (“Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood”), Sam Mendes (“1917”) and Todd Phillips (“Joker”) were nominated for feature film directing.

Yes, the category was stacked with directors that have won previous directing awards, but many immediately noted the exclusion of Gerwig and Heller given how critically well-received the films have been so far.

According to the Los Angeles Times, women have only been nominated at the Globes for Best Director seven times in its 75-year history. In 2017, presenter Natalie Portman even called out this discrepancy, announcing the “all-male nominees.” Har’el and “Hustlers” director Lorene Scafaria both received directing nominations for the 2020 Spirit Awards, while the Gotham Awards nominated Olivia Wilde for “Booksmart” (she lost to Noah Baumbach for “Marriage Story” last week).

“Keep fighting for more women & POC behind the camera by supporting their films,” Har’el added. “Don’t make your end game the political money that trades hands in the form of movie campaigns for people who can’t see us and recognize us.”

See Har’el’s tweets below.

Beatrice Verhoeven, PWS

Beatrice Verhoeven

Film Editor, Twitter: @bverhoev

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