Black Best Director Oscar Nominees

With “BlacKkKlansman” (2018), Spike Lee became only the sixth black filmmaker to receive a Best Director nomination at the Oscars. Which five auteurs managed to make the cut prior to him? Find out by taking a tour through our photo gallery.

The nomination is notable in how criminally overdue it is. Early in his career, he received a Golden Globe nomination for helming the controversial racial animosity drama “Do the Right Thing.” At the Oscars, Lee was omitted from the Best Director lineup in favor of Woody Allen (“Crimes and Misdemeanors”), Kenneth Branagh (“Henry V”), Jim Sheridan (“My Left Foot”), Peter Weir (“Dead Poets Society”), and the winner, Oliver Stone (“Born on the Fourth of July”). Lee did contend in Best Original Screenplay, losing to Tom Schulman (“Dead Poets Society”). Years later, he reaped a Best Documentary Feature nomination for “4 Little Girls” (1997), which was bested by “The Long Way Home.”

Lee entered the awards race in a big way with this true-life drama about an African American police officer (John David Washington) infiltrating the Ku Klux Klan. In addition to his directing bid, he also snagged nominations in Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay, making him only the third black filmmaker in history to compete in all three categories. (The first was Jordan Peele for “Get Out” in 2017, who incidentally serves as a producer on Lee’s film.)

Surprisingly, no black filmmaker has ever won the Oscar for directing, despite Best Picture victories for “12 Years a Slave” (2013) and “Moonlight” (2016). So now that Lee is finally nominated, can he make history by snagging the Best Director prize?

John Singleton

“Boyz N the Hood” (1991)

John Singleton became the first black Best Director Oscar nominee in 1991 for “Boyz N the Hood,” and at just 24 year old, he’s also the youngest nominee in the category ever. The film follows the lives of three young men (Cuba Gooding Jr., Ice Cube, and Morris Chestnut) living in the Crenshaw ghetto of Los Angeles. Singleton lost the award to Jonathan Demme for “The Silence of the Lambs.” He also competed in Best Original Screenplay, losing to Callie Khouri for “Thelma & Louise.”

Lee Daniels

“Precious” (2009)

Lee Daniels became the second black Best Director Oscar nominee in 2009 for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” and is also the first black filmmaker to direct a Best Picture nominee. The film follows Precious (Gabourey Sidibe), an overweight, abused, illiterate teen pregnant with her second child who enrolls in an alternative school in hopes that her life can be turned around. Daniels lost the award to Kathryn Bigelow for “The Hurt Locker,” which also took Best Picture.

Steve McQueen

“12 Years a Slave” (2013)

Steve McQueen became the third black Best Director Oscar nominee in 2013 for “12 Years a Slave.” The film tells the true story of Solomon Northup, a free black man in upstate New York who is abducted and sold into slavery in the antebellum United States. McQueen lost Best Director to Alfonso Cuaron for “Gravity,” but became the first black filmmaker to direct a Best Picture winner.

Barry Jenkins

“Moonlight” (2016)

Barry Jenkins became the fourth black Best Director Oscar nominee in 2016 for “Moonlight.” The film chronicles the childhood, adolescence, and burgeoning adulthood of a young, African American gay man growing up in a rough Miami neighborhood. Jenkins lost Best Director to Damien Chazelle for “La La Land,” but took the prize for Best Adapted Screenplay. Additionally, “Moonlight” won Best Picture, becoming the second film from a black director to receive the top award.

Jordan Peele

“Get Out” (2017)

Jordan Peele became the fifth black Best Director Oscar nominee in 2017 for “Get Out.” The film centers on a young African American who visits his white girlfriend’s parents for the weekend, where his simmering uneasiness about their reception of him reaches a boiling point. Peele lost Best Director to Guillermo del Toro for “The Shape of Water,” but he did win Best Original Screenplay, making him the first black victor in that category. Additionally his Best Picture nomination made him the first African American to compete for writing, producing, and directing the same film. 

Spike Lee

“BlacKkKlansman” (2018)

Spike Lee became the sixth black Best Director Oscar nominee in 2018 for “BlacKkKlansman.” The film tells the true story of Ron Stallworth (John David Washington), an African American police officer who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in the 1970s. Lee also reaped nominations in Best Picture and Best Director, making him only the second black filmmaker in history to contend in all three categories. (The first was Jordan Peele for “Get Out” in 2017; Peele competes as a producer on Lee’s film.)