Women directors shut out from Oscar nominations 2020

Los Angeles: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is facing criticism for excluding women directors and some worthy performances from actors of colour in its nominations.

Oscar nominations featured all male filmmakers in their directing category, which critics say was a repeat of the 2017 #Oscarssowhite controversy.

Greta Gerwig, whose Lady Bird follow-up Little Women earned six nods, including best actor for Saoirse Ronan and best supporting actor for Florence Pugh, was overlooked for best director consideration. Ronan, who picked up her fourth career Oscar nomination, said Greta's omission left her "scratching (her) head a bit."

"But to me, Greta, since she started, has made two perfect films, and I hope when she makes her next perfect movie, she gets recognised for everything, because I think she's one of the most important filmmakers of our time," Ronan told Deadline.

Female filmmakers like Olivia Wilde, Joanna Hogg, Lorene Scafaria, Marielle Heller and Celine Sciamma were all sidelined.

The stars of these films have also been overlooked, most notably Awkwafina of The Farewell as she recently scripted history by becoming the first woman of Asian descent to win the Golden Globe for best actor - comedy or musical.

Jennifer Lopez of The Hustlers was another actor who was overlooked for her performance.

Among the prominent black faces of Hollywood, Oscar winners Lupita Nyong'o ("Us") and Jamie Foxx ("Just Mercy") lost out on nods in best actor and best supporting actor categories.

Eddie Murphy and his Netflix feature Dolemite Is My Name also received cold shoulder from the Academy voters as the movie did not receive even one nod.