Oppenheimer won the American Directors' Union (DGA) top prize on Saturday, a reliable barometer for the Oscars, suggesting that its director Christopher Nolan could be crowned there this year after a long wait.
The British director, known for his complex blockbusters with great commercial success but not always acclaimed at film awards, won the award for best film at the 75th Directors Guild of America (DGA) awards ceremony.
“The thought that my colleagues think I deserve this award means everything to me,” Nolan said of his feature film, dedicated to the father of the atomic bomb, J. Robert Oppenheimer, played by Irish actor Cillian Murphy. Four of his previous films, Memento, The Dark Knight, Inception and Dunkirk, were nominated for the DGA's top award without winning.
After five unsuccessful nominations, the filmmaker can now hope to be celebrated at the 96th Academy Awards next month. Oppenheimer won 13 nominations.
Accepting his award, Christopher Nolan praised his team for bringing his ambitious visions to life, including creating a stunning replica of the first atomic bomb test.
“Sorry, guys! It all depends on you and your teams. And you've never been as successful as you were at Oppenheimer,” he said on stage.
The other directors competing for the DGA Best Picture of the Year award this year were Martin Scorsese for Killers of the Flower Moon, Greta Gerwig for Barbie, Yorgos Lanthimos and His Poor Things and Alexander Payne for The Holdovers.
Eighteen of the last 20 DGA winners also won the Oscar for Best Director in the same year. This year the Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 10th.
The best documentary award went to 20 Days in Mariupol, which documents the start of the war in a Ukrainian city that became the site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Russian invasion.
“Today my hometown was bombed and seven people were killed, including three children. So it’s a sad day,” said director Mstyslav Chernov.
“At the same time, I recognize the power of cinema…When these people flee the bombs that are falling on them, they sit in basements and watch films to combat their fear,” he said. -he adds.
Television works are also honored at the DGA Awards: “The Last of Us” won the award for best episode of a drama series and “The Bear” won the award for comedy.