This Year’s Slate of Directors Include Golden Globe Nomination-Bound Filmmakers Behind Festival Fare Like ANORA

Festival Fare Made by Great Directors Could Get Golden Globe Nods

This year’s slate of potential Golden Globe nominated directors includes some of the finest filmmakers working today with Sean Baker currently the front runner for his work on the festival fave, Anora.

When looking at the Best Director potential nominees, one gets an overview of some of the most distinguished and prestigious films of the year, many of which played at film festivals over the country this past year. Pedro Almodóvar made his first English language feature with the beautifully acted, The Room Next Door, but he is currently not the favorite to take home the Golden Globe for Best Director next year although a nomination is most likely probable for his work on the exquisitely made aforementioned movie. While Sean Baker is in the lead to win for directing Anora, he’s closely followed by Brady Corbet for his showy work on The Brutalist, the sublimely made Adrien Brody drama. Consequently, all three of those movies I’ve just mentioned played at the New York Film Festival which I had the good fortune to attend this year.

There were other movies that played at the festivals this year such as Blitz (which also was featured at the NYFF) which was directed by the great Steve McQueen. But, my favorite potential sneaker into the Golden Globe race for Best Director played at AFI Fest: Juror #2. That film was made by none other than the wonderful and distinguished Clint Eastwood who has crafted his best movie since Mystic River with this new one. James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic, A Complete Unknown has risen as a huge contender for a Best Director nomination as well with other acting nominations likely as well for that picture. Another NYFF movie, Emilia Pérez, directed by Jacques Audiard is the dark horse contender for a Best Director nod this year.

Outside of the festival circuit, there are plenty of serious Best Director contenders in the running for a Golden Globe nod. Denis Villeneuve made the phenomenal sequel, Dune: Part Two, which looks likely to follow in its predecessor’s footsteps with awards and accolades starting next month with the Golden Globe nominations which come out December 9th. Don’t forget to see if the Hollywood Foreign Press will nominate Robert Eggers for his work on the upcoming remake of Nosferatu. Then, there’s also the off-chance that Coralie Fargeat will make it in for The Substance as well. Could horror finally get the real respect it deserves this year with some recognition by the Hollywood Foreign Press?

All this aside, though, this looks like Sean Baker’s year to shine. His Anora was a work of tremendous originality and is the reason film festivals were invented in the first place. Expect Baker to ride the success of his new film all the way to the Globes and beyond. The Oscars could be the last and final stop for Anora to sweep its slew of Best Director prizes. Time will tell. However, don’t rule Brady Corbet (The Brutalist) out just yet! The Globes love an upset.

Leave your thoughts on this look at the Golden Globe potential Best Director nominees and their film festival pedigree below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more movie news can visit our Movie News Page, our Movie News Twitter Page, and our Movie News Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Mobile App, Google News, Feedly, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, Mastodon, Flipboard, and Threads. This news was brought to our attention by Variety.