Barbra Streisand slams Golden Globes for not recognising the work of female directors.
The 75-year-old singer-and-actress won one of the prestigious gongs for her 1984 movie ‘Yentl’, but while presenting the final award at the ceremony on Sunday evening (07.01.18), Streisand pointed out that it was only men listed in this year’s Best Director category.
She said: "So, backstage I heard they said something about me, I was the only woman to get – did I hear right – the only woman to get the Best Director award, and you know that was 1984. That was 34 years ago. Folks, time’s up. We need more women directors and more women to be nominated for best director. There are so many films out there that are so good directed by women."
The 2018 awards saw many guests – both male and female – don black clothing in a united stand against sexual harassment in the movie industry.
Streisand also spoke on how "proud" she is to be surrounded by people who speak out against "gender inequality, sexual harassment and pettiness".
She said: "I’m very proud to stand in a room with people who speak out against gender inequality, sexual harassment and the pettiness that has poisoned our politics.
"And I’m proud that our industry, faced with uncomfortable truths, has vowed to change the way we do business.
"Truth is powerful, and in a really good film, we recognise the truth about ourselves, about others, and it’s so powerful that it can even change people’s minds, touch people’s hearts and ultimately even change society itself."
Streisand wasn’t the only person to point out that the Best Director nominees were all men.
Natalie Portman and Ron Howard were the presenters for the prestigious accolade and after the ‘A Beautiful Mind’ filmmaker stated that "we are honored to be here to present the award for best director", the ‘Black Swan’ actress said: "And here are the all-male nominees."
The eventual winner was Guillermo del Toro who scooped the gong for his romantic creature feature ‘The Shape of Water’ and although he did not directly address Portman’s remark he did make a point of praising "a few fantastic women" who worked on the film.
Del Toro was up against Martin McDonagh for ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’, Christopher Nolan for ‘Dunkirk’, Steven Spielberg for ‘The Post’ and Sir Ridley Scott for ‘All The Money in the World’ for the Globe.