Till director Chinonye Chukwu calls out the racism and misogyny behind her Oscar snub. Chukwu’s feature film Till follows the true story of Black activist Mamie Till-Mobley who seeks justice after the brutal murder of her son Emmett Till in 1955. Till is Chukwu’s second feature film, the first of which being the Sundance-winning Clemency in 2019. Till was met with largely positive reviews upon its release in the fall of 2022, with reviewers especially calling out the strength of its lead actress, Danielle Deadwyler.
Chukwu responds to this Oscar snub in a recent post on Instagram. Check it out, below:
In her post, Chukwu referred to “industries” that “are so committed to upholding whiteness and perpetuating an unabashed misogyny towards Black women.” Chukwu also expressed that, despite these challenges, she seeks to “cultivate [her] own joy.”
Oscars Best Actress Category is Steeped in Controversy
While not directly referencing Till in her post, Chukwu’s reference to racist “industries” in the wake of the Oscar nominations is undoubtedly a reference to the Oscar snub. Despite its acclaim, Till did not receive a single Oscar nomination. The most glaring snub would have to be for Deadwyler in the Best Actress Category. In addition to the strong praise of her Till performance from critics, Deadwyler received copious nominations among other prominent awards including the BAFTAs and the SAG awards. And yet, she was left out of the Best Actress consideration list this year.
Till’s Best Actress snub is particularly jarring amid the growing controversy of the Best Actress category. When the Oscar nominations were announced last week, one particular nomination stood out even more than the snubs: Andrea Riseborough’s nomination for Best Actress for To Leslie. To Leslie is a film that few people had heard of and even fewer had seen. The film has gained little awards traction at other ceremonies, and Riseborough’s nod is considered a product of her last-minute, self-funded Oscar campaign. This shock has prompted the Academy to conduct an investigation behind Riseborough’s campaign, and whether it broke the anti-lobbying rules set by the Academy.
Who Else Was Snubbed at the Oscars?
Beyond the Best Actress category, the Oscars made a number of other snubs this year. Notably, the Best Director category did not include any women, snubbing Chukwu as well as fellow female directors Sarah Polley for Women Talking and Charlotte Wells for Aftersun. Given its subject matter focused on violence against women, Women Talking seemed like another potential misogynistic snub in the Best Director category, as well as in the supporting actress category considering the incredible female cast. The Oscar controversies will keep developing as the Riseborough campaign investigation continues, but however things fall out, Till will not be the only film that goes down in the books as a snub for the 95th Oscars.
Source: Chinonye Chukwu (via Instagram)