DGA Awards: Christopher Nolan wins top honour for the first time

Christopher Nolan received the top honour at the Directors Guild of America Awards on Saturday night for his film "Oppenheimer", marking his first DGA Award win. The ceremony, hosted by Judd Apatow at Los Angeles' Beverly Hilton, celebrated achievements in both film and television directing.

Among the notable winners was Celine Song, director of "Past Lives", who was awarded the Michael Apted Award for the first feature. Mstyslav Chernov also received recognition for his documentary "20 Days in Mariupol", which earned him an Oscar nomination.

In the television categories, Peter Hoar won for directing the episode "Long, Long Time" of "The Last of Us". Christopher Storer won for directing "The Bear" and Sarah Adina Smith won for directing "Lessons in Chemistry".

DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter addressed the challenges faced by the industry in the past year, expressing gratitude for the return to work and advocating for fair contracts for all workers. Host Judd Apatow also referenced the previous year's strike, highlighting the importance of collaboration and compromise.

Throughout the evening, directors nominated for top prizes were honoured, with Greta Gerwig, Yorgos Lanthimos, and Martin Scorsese among those recognised. Additionally, David Nutter, Janet G Knutsen, and Gary Natoli were honoured with Lifetime Achievement Awards.

The 76th annual DGA Awards celebrated excellence in directing across both film and television, showcasing the talent and innovation of industry professionals.

A complete list of winners for the 76th annual DGA Awards is as follows:

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film

Greta Gerwig, Barbie

Yorgos Lanthimos, Poor Things

Christopher Nolan, Oppenheimer (WINNER)

Alexander Payne, The Holdovers

Martin Scorsese, Killers of the Flower Moon

Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film

Cord Jefferson, American Fiction

Manuela Martelli, Chile '76

Noora Niasari, Shayda

A.V. Rockwell, A Thousand and One

Celine Song, Past Lives (WINNER)

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series

Peter Hoar, The Last of Us, "Long, Long Time" (WINNER)

Becky Martin, Succession, "Rehearsal"

Mark Mylod, Succession, "Connor's Wedding"

Andrij Parekh, Succession, "America Decides"

Robert Pulcini and Shari Springer Berman, Succession, "Tailgate Party"

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series

Erica Dunton, Ted Lasso, "La Locker Room Aux Folles"

Bill Hader, Barry, "wow"

Declan Lowney, Ted Lasso, "So Long, Farewell"

Christopher Storer, The Bear, "Fishes" (WINNER)

Ramy Youssef, The Bear, "Honeydew"

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited Series

Shawn Levy, All the Light We Cannot See

Tara Miele, Lessons in Chemistry, "Introduction to Chemistry"

Millicent Shelton, Lessons in Chemistry, "Poirot"

Sarah Adina Smith, Lessons in Chemistry, "Her and Him" (WINNER)

Nzingha Stewart, Daisy Jones & The Six, "Track 10: Rock 'n' Roll Suicide"

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming

Paul G. Casey, Real Time with Bill Maher, "Episode 2117"

Jim Hoskinson, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, "Jan. 19, 2023: Rep. Adam Kinzinger; Meet Me at the Altar; Special appearance by Harvey Guillén"

Michael Mancini and Liz Patrick, Saturday Night Live, "Pedro Pascal / Coldplay" (WINNER)

David Paul Meyer, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, "Singer Charley Crockett Performs "Name on a Billboard" and Discusses New Album with Jordan Klepper"

Paul Pennolino, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, "Episode 1018: Dollar Stores

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials

Joel Gallen, Chris Rock: Selective Outrage

Stan Lathan, Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer

Linda Mendoza, Wanda Sykes: I'm an Entertainer

Paul Miller, Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter + Love (WINNER)

Glenn Weiss, The 95th Annual Academy Awards

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs

Niharika Desai, Rainn Wilson and the Geography of Bliss, "Happiness is a Bottle of Cod Liver Oil" (WINNER)

Ken Fuchs, The Golden Bachelor, "Premiere"

Joseph Guidry and Alexandra Lipsitz, Project Greenlight: A New Generation, "PGL vs. Gray Matter Problem"

Rich Kim, Lego Masters, "Is It Brick?"

Patrick McManus, American Ninja Warrior, "Season 15 Finale"

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children's Programs

James Bobin, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, "I Accidentally Vaporize My Pre-Algebra Teacher"

Destin Daniel Cretton, American Born Chinese, "What Guy Are You"

Rob Letterman, Goosebumps, "Say Cheese and Die"

Amy Schatz, Stand Up & Shout: Songs From a Philly High School (WINNER)

Dinh Thai, American Born Chinese, "A Monkey on a Quest"

Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary

Moses Bwayo and Christopher Sharp, Bobi Wine: The People's President

Mstyslav Chernov, 20 Days in Mariupol (WINNER)

Madeleine Gavin, Beyond Utopia

Davis Guggenheim, Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie

D. Smith, Kokomo City

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