Oscars 2025 Shocker: Two French Directors Nominated – A Historic First? Full Story!

French cinema is shining brighter than ever on the global stage. The nominations for the 97th Academy Awards have been announced, and two French filmmakers have been recognized in the major categories – Best Picture and Best Director.

The first is Coralie Fargeat, the writer and director behind The Substance, starring Demi Moore. The second is Jacques Audiard, the writer and director of Emilia Pérez.

The musical drama has received a total of 13 nominations. No non-English language film has garnered as many nominations since Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon by Ang Lee. Meanwhile, The Substance has secured five nominations.

A Historic Record? Not Exactly

Is this a historic record? No, the last time two French individuals were nominated in the Best Director category at the Oscars was back in 1975. Roman Polanski for Chinatown and François Truffaut for Day for Night were among the nominees. The Oscar ultimately went to Francis Ford Coppola for The Godfather Part II.

This double representation of France comes a year after the success of Justine Triet, who was also nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for The Fall of a Woman. The filmmaker and Arthur Harari won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay that year.

In 2012, French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius won the Oscar for Best Director for the film The Artist.

The 97th Academy Awards ceremony will take place on March 2nd.