Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the directors of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” were awarded top honors for feature filmmaking by the Directors Guild of America at the 75th DGA Awards, a strong indicator of who could win at the Academy Awards next month.
The unrest between Hollywood studios and the guild did not put a damper on the awards, which were held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills on Saturday evening. Winners have aligned with the Oscars in nine of the last 10 years. Sam Mendes won the DGA Award for “1917” in 2020, while Bong Joon-Ho won the Oscar for “Parasite.” Jane Campion won both awards last year for directing “The Power of the Dog.”
Other nominees for the top DGA prize were “Tár” director Todd Field, Martin McDonagh for “The Banshees of Inisherin,” Joseph Kosinski for “Top Gun: Maverick” and Steven Spielberg for “The Fabelmans.” Kosinski did not make the final Oscar list, with Ruben Östlund rounding out that list for “Triangle of Sadness.”
The win continues the good fortune for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” which leads the Oscar nominees with 11, and includes Michelle Yeoh’s Golden Globes win. Daniels, as the directors are called, talked about their approach to making the film in an interview with The Times’ Mark Olsen, saying: “You’re not a general; you’re a party host inviting every cast and crew member on set to bring the best version of themselves to the party.”
No women were nominated by the DGA or the motion picture academy for best director this year, despite some deserving contenders. The guild’s other top awards went to female filmmakers, though. For first feature film, the award went to Charlotte Wells for “Aftersun,” while the top documentary prize was awarded to Sara Dosa for “Fire of Love.”
