The Year of the Woman?

Guy Lodge over at In Contention floats the idea that 2009 could be the best year yet for women in the Best Pic category (no doubt about that), but perhaps also squeezing into the Best Director category. Most of the big guns haven’t hit yet but at this stage of the game, the Hurt Locker and An Education are looking mighty formidable indeed:

With all that said, I still have a feeling that the biggest story angle of this year’s awards season could be the rise of the female director. It’s something I’ve discussed before, with women like Kathryn Bigelow, Lone Scherfig, Jane Campion and Mira Nair all potentially bringing something to the Oscar table. That, however, is still a narrative that hangs more on the five slots for Best Director than the ten for Best Picture. Perhaps from now on, trend-spotters will simply have to look a little lower than top the category.