Natalie Portman Puts the Oscars on Notice Over 2026 Snub of Women Directors
Out promoting The Gallerist, Natalie Portman blasted the Oscars for sidelining women, pointing out that just one of this year’s ten nominees was directed by a woman and insisting many of the year’s best films came from female filmmakers.
Natalie Portman used her Sundance stop for her new movie to make a familiar point with fresh receipts: this year’s Oscars barely acknowledged women behind the camera, and she’s not letting that slide.
What happened
While promoting her film 'The Gallerist' at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, Portman pivoted from festival chatter to awards-season frustrations. She also showed support for Renee Good — wearing pins for Good, who was shot by an ICE agent in a case that’s sparked backlash — and talked more broadly about the country’s mood before zeroing in on the Academy.
The part that set off the conversation
'So many of the best films I saw this year were made by women,' Portman told Variety. 'You just see the barriers at every level because so many were not recognized at awards time... Every step of the road is harder, and then you’re out, and it’s great, and then it also doesn’t get the attention. We have a lot of work to do still.'
The stat that sticks
Out of the Academy’s ten Best Picture nominees this year, only one was directed by a woman: Chloe Zhao’s 'Hamnet.' That’s the whole issue in a sentence.
The movies she says got overlooked
Portman didn’t just make a broad complaint — she named names, pointing to several female-directed films she felt were widely loved but shut out when it mattered:
- 'Sorry Baby'
- 'Left-Handed Girl'
- 'Hedda'
- 'The Testament of Ann Lee'
Why she says the imbalance keeps happening
In her view, it’s not just about nominations; it’s the whole pipeline. Financing is tougher. Getting into top festivals is tougher. And even after you clear those hurdles, the awards attention can still be lopsided. If you follow how movies get made and noticed, that nuts-and-bolts stuff is where the real tilt shows up.
Meanwhile, about 'The Gallerist'
Portman is on the press circuit for 'The Gallerist,' which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival on January 24. The timing made her comments land louder — she’s literally in the middle of the system she’s critiquing.