The Directors Guild of America (DGA) honored the best in film and television at its 77th annual awards ceremony, with Sean Baker taking home the top prize for his film Anora. The victory positions Baker as a leading contender for the upcoming Academy Awards, further solidifying the indie dramedy’s place in an unpredictable awards season.
Following its Palme d’Or win at Cannes and a surprise Best Picture victory at the Critics Choice Awards, Anora continues to build momentum. Accepting the award at the Beverly Hilton, Baker expressed his gratitude, saying, “I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be able to do the thing I knew I wanted to do since I was five years old.”
The ceremony, hosted by Judd Apatow, featured both lighthearted moments and pointed industry discussions. DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter opened the evening by acknowledging the first responders who battled the recent L.A. wildfires and emphasized the importance of bringing film and television production back to the U.S.
One of the night’s most prestigious honors, the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award, was presented to Ang Lee by Michelle Yeoh, his former Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star. The award places Lee among an elite group of only 36 directors to receive the distinction in the Guild’s 88-year history, alongside legends such as Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese. Lee reflected on his career, saying, “Movies are my faith. It’s what I believe in more than reality. It is only through pretending that we can hope to touch the truth.”
Oscar Implications for Anora
Historically, winning the DGA’s Best Director award is a strong indicator of Oscar success. Since the Guild’s inception, the DGA winner has gone on to win the Best Director Oscar in all but eight instances. Notable exceptions include Steven Spielberg (The Color Purple) and Ben Affleck (Argo), but the DGA victory remains a key milestone for any awards season frontrunner.
In terms of Best Picture, a DGA nomination has also been crucial. Only two films—Driving Miss Daisy (1989) and CODA (2022)—have won the Oscar for Best Picture without a DGA nomination. Conversely, several films have claimed Best Picture without securing a Best Director nod, including Argo (2012), Green Book (2018), and CODA (2022).
Other Major Winners
Beyond Baker’s victory, the night celebrated first-time director RaMell Ross, who won for The Nickel Boys. The drama, which is up for two Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, was recognized for its rare depiction of Black subjectivity. In his speech, Ross emphasized the lack of such stories in mainstream cinema, stating, “It’s so difficult to see ourselves in film as something that’s as uniquely Black as jazz or as Toni Morrison’s writing. It does not exist.”
In the Documentary Category, the duo Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev won for Porcelain War, while the biggest winners in television included:
- Best Drama Series: Shōgun (FX)
- Best Comedy Series: Hacks (HBO/Max)
- Best Limited Series: Ripley (Netflix)
In the Commercial Directing Category, Andreas Nilsson took home the award for his work on “Whizzer” (produced by Biscuit Filmworks). Known for his offbeat and visually striking storytelling, Nilsson has built a reputation for blending surreal humor with high-concept execution. His win at the DGA Awards further solidifies his status as one of the industry’s most inventive commercial directors.
Apatow also paid tribute to David Lynch, who passed away in January at age 78. He shared a clip from what he believes was Lynch’s final interview, conducted for an upcoming HBO documentary on Mel Brooks.
See below for all DGA winners:
Film Categories
Theatrical Feature Film
- Jacques Audiard — “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix)
- Sean Baker — “Anora” (Neon) — WINNER
- Edward Berger — “Conclave” (Focus Features)
- Brady Corbet — “The Brutalist” (A24)
- James Mangold — “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures)
Michael Apted First Time Directorial Feature
- Payal Kapadia — “All We Imagine as Light” (Janus Films/Sideshow)
- Megan Park — “My Old Ass” (Amazon MGM Studios)
- RaMell Ross — “Nickel Boys” (Amazon MGM Studios) — WINNER
- Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel — “Armand” (IFC Films)
- Sean Wang — “Dìdi” (Focus Features)
Documentary
- Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev – “Porcelain War” (Picturehouse) — WINNER
- Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie – “Sugarcane” (National Geographic)
- Johan Grimonprez – “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” (Kino Lorber)
- Ibrahim Nash’at – “Hollywoodgate” (Fourth Act Film)
- Natalie Rae & Angela Patton – “Daughters” (Netflix)
TV Categories
Dramatic Series
- Alex Graves – “The Diplomat,” “Dreadnought” (Netflix)
- Hiromi Kamata – “Shōgun,” “Ladies of the Willow World” (FX)
- Issa López – “True Detective: Night Country,” “Part 6” (HBO)
- Frederick E.O. Toye – “Shōgun,” “Crimson Sky” (FX) — WINNER
- Jonathan Van Tulleken – “Shōgun,” “Anjin” (FX)
Comedy Series
- Lucia Aniello – “Hacks,” “Bulletproof” (HBO/Max) — WINNER
- Ayo Edebiri – “The Bear,” “Napkins” (FX)
- Duccio Fabbri – “The Bear,” “Doors” (FX)
- Jeff Schaffer – “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “No Lessons Learned” (HBO/Max)
- Christopher Storer – “The Bear,” “Tomorrow” (FX)
Movies for Television and Limited Series
- Kevin Bray – “The Penguin,” “Top Hat” (HBO/Max)
- Alfonso Cuarón – “Disclaimer” (Apple TV+)
- Jennifer Getzinger – “The Penguin,” “A Great or Little Thing” (HBO/Max)
- Helen Shaver – “The Penguin,” “Cent’anni” (HBO/Max)
- Steven Zaillian – “Ripley” (Netflix) – WINNER
Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming
- Paul G. Casey – “Real Time with Bill Maher,” “Jiminy Glick, Andrew Cuomo, Adam Kinzinger” (HBO/Max)
- Jim Hoskinson – “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez & Mavis Staples w/ Jeff Tweedy” (CBS)
- David Paul Meyer – “The Daily Show,” “Indecision 2024: The Democratic National Convention ‑ Plot Twist!” (Comedy Central)
- Liz Patrick – “Saturday Night Live,” “John Mulaney / Chappell Roan” (NBC) — WINNER
- Paul Pennolino – “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” “India Elections” (HBO/Max)
Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials
- Hamish Hamilton – “The 96th Annual Academy Awards” (ABC)
- Beth McCarthy‑Miller – “The Roast of Tom Brady” (Netflix) — WINNER
- David Paul Meyer – “The Daily Show Presents A Live Election Night Special With Jon Stewart: Indecision 2024: Nothing We Can Do About It Now” (Comedy Central)
- Glenn Weiss – “The 77th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)
- Ali Wong – “Ali Wong: Single Lady” (Netflix)
Reality Programs
- Neil DeGroot – “Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted,” “The Cliffs of Ireland” (National Geographic) — WINNER
- Joseph Guidry – “Deal Or No Deal Island,” “Are You Decisive?” (NBC)
- Ari Katcher – “Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show,” “Road Trip” (HBO/Max)
- Patrick McManus – “American Ninja Warrior,” “Las Vegas Finals 4” (NBC)
- Mike Sweeney – “Conan O’Brien Must Go,” “Ireland” (Max)
Children’s Programs
- Kat Coiro – “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” “Welcome to Spiderwick” (Roku Channel)
- Michael Goi – “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “Aang” (Netflix)
- Jim Mickle – “Sweet Tooth,” “This Is a Story” (Netflix)
- Jennifer Phang – “Descendants: The Rise of Red” (Disney+)
- Amber Sealey – “Out of My Mind” (Disney+) — WINNER
Commercials
- Lance Acord – “An American Love Story” (Park Pictures)
- Kim Gehrig – “A Life in Sound” (Somesuch)
Kim Gehrig – “Am I A Bad Person?” (Somesuch)
Kim Gehrig – “Find Your Friends” (Somesuch) - Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim – “Michael CeraVe” (Prettybird)
- Andreas Nilsson – “Board Game” (Biscuit Filmworks)
Andreas Nilsson – “First Office Poo” (Biscuit Filmworks)
Andreas Nilsson – “One More” (Biscuit Filmworks)
Andreas Nilsson – “Whizzer” (Biscuit Filmworks) — WINNER - Ivan Zachariáš – “Flock” (Smuggler)
Looking Ahead to the Oscars
With the Academy Awards fast approaching, Baker’s DGA victory makes Anora a formidable contender in multiple categories. Whether it can translate this success into an Oscar win remains to be seen, but the film has certainly cemented its place as one of the most talked-about titles of the season.
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