On Saturday morning, February 3, the DGA presented its membership with a unique opportunity to celebrate the craft of directing during the 27th Annual Meet the Nominees: Feature Film symposium. Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film Award nominees Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water), Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird), Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) and Jordan Peele (Get Out) joined moderator Jeremy Kagan onstage for an in-depth discussion about their work.
“It’s an extraordinary and rare pleasure to be in the company of our feature film director nominees as they share the stories of their individual journeys in bringing their films to life,” said DGA President Thomas Schlamme as he welcomed the standing room only crowd packing the Guild’s Los Angeles Theater. “Each of these fine directors join an illustrious line of filmmakers throughout Guild history who have represented the best in directorial achievement. Congratulations to each of you.”
Following the traditional screening of a clip from each film, Kagan led the nominees in a lively roundtable discussion of technical and creative processes of each director from pre-production to final cut. As usual, the spirit of camaraderie and mutual respect was evident even though in a matter of hours, only one of them would be able to take home this year’s DGA Award for Feature Film Award. However, on this morning it was clear that they were all winners.
Below find a photo gallery and watch video highlights.
You can watch the full panel by clicking the video above. Or listen to the panel in podcast form by clicking the following links: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3. Find all of our podcasts here.
Meet the Nominees: Feature Film Symposium:
- Directed by: Allan D. Kartun
- Director of Photography: Chad Wilson
- Stage Manager: Tracey Smith Baumert