Girls In The Picture

From the earliest days of Hollywood, women were stage‑managed and cast aside by men in powerful positions. No more, says the Academy Awards

- Annie Darling

Appearing before a ballroom crowded with stars including Tom Hanks, Christian Bale and Robert Pattinson, Italian film-maker Lina Wertmüller stood onstage flanked by fellow Hollywood heavyweights Sophia Loren and Isabella Rossellini. Wertmüller made history when she became the first woman to earn a Best Director nomination for her film Seven Beauties (1975). Tonight, the 91-year-old attends the 11th Governors Awards to receive an honorary Oscar.

Behind me sits Jennifer Lopez and to the left laughs Shia LaBeouf. Quentin Tarantino is locked in conversation with Leonardo DiCaprio, while Charlize Theron, Jon Hamm and Lupita Nyong’o scamper between tables to excitedly embrace Hollywood’s elite. I am, quite literally, starry-eyed—and it’s thanks to an invitation from Rolex, which has supported the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the organisation behind the Academy Awards, more commonly known as the Oscars, since 2017.

The crowd quietens as Wertmüller approaches the podium. “She would like to change the name Oscar to a feminine name,” translates Rossellini as the film-maker, clearly emotional, examines her statuette. “She would like to call it Anna, rather than Oscar.” It’s a significant moment because in the Academy’s 92-year history, only five women—Wertmüller, Jane Campion (1994), Sofia Coppola (2004), Kathryn Bigelow (2009) and Greta Gerwig (2017)—have earned Best Director nominations, compared to 350 men.