Directors Guild Winners Announced

The DGA Awards are under way at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills. In TV, Severance, Station Eleven and The Daily Show were among the frontrunners (with two nods each), while Steven Spielberg was gunning for his fourth trophy, for the semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans. But also in the hunt are Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, the duo behind the sci-fi comedy Everything Everywhere All at Once.

At the DGA, Spielberg holds the record for the most nominations and wins, at 13 and three, respectively. If Daniels win, they would be the third directing duo ever to win.

The DGA boasts a voting body of around 19,000 members. Over its 75-year history, the DGA Awards has been the most reliable barometer for the Oscars’ best director prize. Only eight DGA winners have failed to walk away with the Academy Award, most recently Sam Mendes (1917), who lost to Bong Joon Ho (Parasite) in 2020.

The night kicked off with Fire of Love director Sara Dosa winning the prize for best documentary. It was her first nomination and first win at the DGA Awards. It’s been truly a struggle and I’m so grateful to have my dream job, she said.

Glenn Weiss won his ninth DGA Award (his first for 2018), this time for CBS’ 75th Annual Tony Awards, in the variety/talk/news/sports — specials. Weiss revealed that he eloped with his now-wife Jan on Valentine’s Day; the director famously and very publicly proposed to his girlfriend on stage during the Emmy Awards in 2018.

DGA president Lesli Linka Glatter opened the awards show by briefly discussing the upcoming guild contract negotiations with the town’s studios.

In this ever changing, complicated and sometimes hostile environment for creative people in our industry – we are committed to ensuring that creative excellence and economic stability continue so you can realize your vision, she said. And I can guarantee you one thing – the DGA is going to fight like hell to protect that future for our directors and their teams.

Later this spring, we will be back at the table.  And rest assured – we will be ready. It comes down to this: we are all partners in this business. Partners. Which means negotiating a new contract that continues to treat our members fairly and with respect, that recognizes and rewards our vital contributions to this industry no matter how it evolves, that reinforces our shared interest in building a healthy, vibrant, stable business that will entertain and inspire audiences around the world.

The DGA is prepared and ready to fight for an excellent deal to protect the future for directors and their teams — and that is exactly what we are going to achieve, she added.

Judd Apatow was back to host this year’s ceremony. The event, which returned live last year after going virtual in 2021, and is part of a busy holiday weekend on the kudos gauntlet that also includes the BAFTA and Art Directors Guild events. Here’s a look at this year’s winners.