Calling out the Academy, Natalie Portman highlighted the lack of female directors in the 2026 Oscar nominations, adding, “We have a lot of work to do still.”
The Black Swan star expressed her frustration while conversing with Variety during the Sundance Film Festival in Utah to promote her new film The Gallerist on Saturday, January 24.
“So many of the best films I saw this year were made by women,” Portman said, adding, “You just see the barriers at every level because so many were not recognized at awards time."
"Between Sorry Baby and Left-Handed Girl and Hedda and The Testament of Ann Lee… Extraordinary films this year that I think a lot of people are enjoying and loving, but are not getting the accolades that they deserve," she continued.
Notably, among the Best Director nominees, Chloé Zhao (Hamnet) is the only female, joined by Josh Safdie (Marty Supreme), Paul Thomas Anderson (One Battle After Another), Joachim Trier (Sentimental Value), and Ryan Coogler (Sinners).
Portman also opened up on the challenges of making a movie, “Even when you pass the barriers of getting your financing, which is harder, getting into festivals, which is harder. Every step of the road is harder, and then you’re out and it’s great, and then it also doesn’t get the attention,” noting, “We have a lot of work to do still.”
“But joyfully, with a lot of joy, working with each other," she added with a laugh, "and it’s a very special process to be in community with women on set."
To note, Portman won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance as a troubled ballerina in Black Swan in 2011.
