Kathryn Bigelow has made history, not just by beating ex-husband James Cameron to the Best Director trophy in this year’s Directors Guild of America awards, but also by being the first female director to achieve the title since the awards began in 1939.
Bigelow described herself as being “stunned, honoured and proud” to have won the award for her gritty Iraq war drama “The Hurt Locker” at the ceremony which was held on Saturday night at the Century Plaza. “We all felt a really deep responsibility to tell this story with as much honesty as possible, given the courage of the men and women in the field,” Bigelow said, adding “This is the most incredible moment of my life.” The audience cheered when Bigelow’s name was read out as the award’s winner, beating not just Cameron (for “Avatar”) but also other big names such as Quentin Tarantino (“Inglourious Basterds”), Lee Daniels (“Precious”) and Jason Reitman (“Up in the Air”).
Bigelow is not only the first female winner of the Best Director award she is also only the seventh woman to have ever even been nominated. Her win follows other nods from the Producers Guild of America last weekend, as well as the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the National Society of Film Critics, and the Directors Guild of America awards are also seen as a good prediction for what will eventually happen come Oscar night. At a panel discussion on earlier in the day, Bigelow noted that realism had been the watchword on making the film. “Authenticity is a moral imperative,” she insisted.
