January 12, 2017
Nominees for First-Time Feature Film Director Category Also Announced
Los Angeles – Directors Guild of America President Paris Barclay today announced the five nominees for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2016.
“These phenomenal filmmakers have captured our hearts and minds, breathing life into stories rarely told and revealing worlds rarely seen,” said Barclay. “What makes this recognition truly special is the knowledge that these five directors have made a lasting impression on their peers – directors and members of the director’s team who intimately understand the blood, sweat and tears necessary to create a feature film.”
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in
Feature Film
The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film for 2016 are (in alphabetical order):
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DAMIEN CHAZELLE
La La Land
(Lionsgate)
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Mr. Chazelle’s Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Michael Beugg
- First Assistant Director: Peter Kohn
- Second Assistant Director: Paula Case
- Assistant Unit Production Manager: Bart Lipton
- Second Second Assistant Director: Brett Robinson
- Additional Second Assistant Director: Dodi Rubenstein
This is Mr. Chazelle’s first DGA Award nomination.
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GARTH DAVIS
Lion
(The Weinstein Company)
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Mr. Davis’s Directorial Team:
- Production Managers: Rajeev Mehra, Rakesh Singh (India Unit)
- First Assistant Director: Chris Webb
- First Assistant Director: Ananya Rane (India Unit)
- Second Assistant Directors: Mark Ingram (Australia Unit), Sunny Tiku (India Unit), KP Singh (India Unit), Shaunak Kapur (India Unit)
This is one of two DGA Award nominations this year for Mr. Davis. He is also nominated in the First-Time Feature Film category for Lion. He was previously nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials in 2009 for “Shadow Puppets,” U.S. Cellular.
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BARRY JENKINS
Moonlight
(A24)
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Mr. Jenkins’s Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Jennifer Radzikowski
This is Mr. Jenkins’s first DGA Feature Film Award nomination.
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KENNETH LONERGAN
Manchester by the Sea
(Amazon Studios and Roadside Attractions)
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Mr. Lonergan’s Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Declan Baldwin
- First Assistant Director: Michael J. Moore
- Second Assistant Director: David Blazina
- Second Second Assistant Directors: Tim LaDue, Scooter Perrotta
This is Mr. Lonergan’s first DGA Award nomination.
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DENIS VILLENEUVE
Arrival
(Paramount Pictures)
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Mr. Villeneuve’s Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Stan Wlodkowski
- First Assistant Director: Donald L. Sparks
- Second Assistant Director: Brigitte Goulet
- Second Second Assistant Director: Karine P. Labelle
This is Mr. Villeneuve’s first DGA Award nomination.
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Outstanding Directorial Achievement in
First-Time Feature Film
The nominees for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement of a First-Time Feature Film Director for 2016 are (in alphabetical order):
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GARTH DAVIS
Lion
(The Weinstein Company)
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Mr. Davis’s Directorial Team:
- Production Managers: Rajeev Mehra, Rakesh Singh (India Unit)
- First Assistant Director: Chris Webb
- First Assistant Director: Ananya Rane (India Unit)
- Second Assistant Directors: Mark Ingram (Australia Unit), Sunny Tiku (India Unit), KP Singh (India Unit), Shaunak Kapur (India Unit)
This is one of two DGA Award nominations this year for Mr. Davis. He is also nominated in the Feature Film category for Lion. He was previously nominated for the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials in 2009 for “Shadow Puppets,” U.S. Cellular.
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KELLY FREMON CRAIG
The Edge of Seventeen
(STX Entertainment)
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Ms. Fremon Craig’s Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Brendan Ferguson
- Production Manager: Dan Clarke
- First Assistant Director: James Bitonti
- Second Assistant Director: Daniel Mansfield
This is Ms. Fremon Craig’s first DGA Award nomination.
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TIM MILLER
Deadpool
(Twentieth Century Fox)
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Mr. Miller’s Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: John J. Kelly
- First Assistant Director: James Bitonti
- Second Assistant Director: Daniel Mansfield
This is Mr. Miller’s first DGA Award nomination.
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NATE PARKER
The Birth of a Nation
(Fox Searchlight Pictures)
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Mr. Parker’s Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Mark Moran
- First Assistant Director: Tomas Deckaj
- Second Assistant Director: Mark C. Stevens
- Second Second Assistant Director: Scott Bowers
This is Mr. Parker’s first DGA Award nomination.
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DAN TRACHTENBERG
10 Cloverfield Lane
(Paramount Pictures)
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Mr. Trachtenberg’s Directorial Team:
- Unit Production Manager: Robert J. Dohrmann
- First Assistant Director: Jason Blumenfeld
- Second Assistant Director: Paul B. Uddo
- Second Second Assistant Director: Jonathan M. Warren
- Location Manager: Batou A. Chandler
This is Mr. Trachtenberg’s first DGA Award nomination.
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Eligible directors for this award must have released his or her first feature-length film theatrically in Los Angeles or New York in 2016. Foreign films are eligible and the director does not need to be a DGA member.
The nominees in nine categories honoring outstanding directorial achievement in television, commercials and documentary for 2016 were announced on January 11, 2017. Click here to see that release.
The winners in all categories will be announced at the 69th Annual DGA Awards on Saturday, February 4, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
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