The winners of the Directors Guild of America Outstanding Directorial Achievement Awards for 2018 were announced last Saturday during the 71st Annual DGA Awards. Alfonso Cuarón won the DGA’s Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for Roma.
The filmmaker beat out Bradley Cooper for A Star Is Born, Spike Lee for BlacKkKlansman, Adam McKay for Vice, and Peter Farrelly for Green Book for the feature film award.
“The language of cinema, like the universe, is constantly expanding,” said Cuaron to the 1500+ audience who included Christian Bale, Mahershala Ali, Guillermo del Toro and Sam Elliott. “The true cinema ignores walls, both real and imagined. More than 11 million domestic workers are migrants. When we vilify them, call them criminals and rapists, we minimize ourselves.”
This win sets Cuarón up as the one to beat at the Oscars ceremony on February 24.
Bradley Cooper was once again shut out for A Star is Born in two categories – Feature Film and First-time Feature Film, losing to Bo Burnham in the latter for Eighth Grade.
In the commercials category, MJZ’s Spike Jonze continued his wins from last year for Apple’s Homepod spot.
The event was hosted by comedienne, actress and talk show host Aisha Tyler at the Hollywood & Highland Center’s Ray Dolby Ballroom in Hollywood. Others in attendance included: Roma’s Yalitza Aparicio, Paris Barclay, Linda Cardellini, Marina de Tavira, Topher Grace, Tony Hale, Laura Harrier, Dennis Haysbert, Brian Tyree Henry, Ron Howard, Dolores Huerta, Quincy Jones, Stan Lathan, Viggo Mortensen, Sarah Paulson, Jordan Peele, Matthew Rhys, Keri Russell, Octavia Spencer, John David Washington, and Constance Wu.
ALSO READ: ‘Green Book’ wins top prize at PGA Awards
A full list of winners are below:
FEATURE FILM
ALFONSO CUARÓN Roma
(Netflix)
DRAMATIC SERIES
ADAM MCKAY — Succession, “Celebration”
(HBO)
MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND LIMITED SERIES
BEN STILLER — Escape at Dannemora
(Showtime)
DOCUMENTARY
TIM WARDLE — Three Identical Strangers
(Neon and CNN Films)
FIRST-TIME FEATURE FILM
BO BURNHAM – Eighth Grade
(A24)
COMMERCIALS
SPIKE JONZE Welcome Home, Apple Homepod
TBWA\Media Arts Lab
(MJZ)
COMEDY SERIES
BILL HADER — Barry, “Chapter One: Make Your Mark”
(HBO)
REALITY PROGRAMS
RUSSELL NORMAN — The Final Table, “Japan”
(Netflix)
VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – SPECIALS
LOUIS J. HORVITZ — The 60th Grammy Awards
(CBS)
VARIETY/TALK/NEWS/SPORTS – REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING
DON ROY KING — Saturday Night Live, “Adam Driver; Kanye West”
(NBC)
CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS
JACK JAMESON — Sesame Street, “When You Wish Upon a Pickle: A Sesame Street Special”
(HBO)
Lifetime Achievement & Service Award Recipients:
DON MISCHER
Lifetime Achievement Award in Television
This award is given in recognition of Distinguished Achievement in Television Direction.
KATHLEEN McGILL
Frank Capra Achievement Award
This award is given to an Assistant Director or Unit Production Manager in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the Directors Guild of America.
MIMI DEATON
Franklin J. Schaffner Achievement Award
This award is given to an Associate Director or Stage Manager in recognition of career achievement in the industry and service to the Directors Guild of America.
FX NETWORKS
DGA Diversity Award
This award is given for the network’s commitment to, and leadership in, inclusive hiring in DGA-covered categories – and for the example they set for the rest of the industry.
Source: The Director’s Guild
