The Directors Guild of America announced their winners for the 2023 DGA Awards Saturday night at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, with Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan taking home the grand prize for Everything Everywhere All at Once.
To kick off the ceremony, Lesli Linka Glatter, President of the DGA, offered welcoming remarks before introducing host Judd Apatow, who previously hosted the annual show three times.
During his opening monologue, the comedian delivered a few punches and sneered at the fact that the show was only broadcast live “back in that room.” This show is so irrelevant that it’s shocking that Elon Musk hasn’t bought it yet.” His joke about “honoring the directors who didn’t have to make a Pinocchio movie this year” resonated well with audiences, and he nodded also that no female filmmaker was nominated in the “Best Director” category this year.
When the feature film nominations were announced in January, female filmmakers were excluded from the feature film category, notably Sarah Polley of Women Talking and Gina Prince-Bythewood of The Woman King. Instead, Todd Field for Tár, Joseph Kosinski for Top Gun: Maverick, Daniels (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) for Everything Everywhere All at Once, Martin McDonagh for The Banshees of Inisherin and Steven Spielberg for The Fabelmans were nominated.
However, female directors fared much better in the first director category, with women receiving four of the five nominations: Saint Omer’s Alice Diop, Happening’s Audrey Diwan, Murina’s Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, and Aftersun’s Charlotte Wells. Emily the Criminal helmsman John Patton Ford was also nominated in the category.
“Some people are complaining this year that all five best director nominees are men, but that’s not true,” Apatow said. “One of the nominees is two men (cut to the Daniels). …It must be hard for James Cameron to have made another of the most technically innovative films of all time and then lose a DGA nomination to two guys who did a dildo fight film.”
Scheinert and Kwan (known as the Daniels) took home the night’s biggest award for directing a feature film when they took the stage with their AD team. “This has been an incredible year for our little film that’s kind of moving on,” Kwan told the crowd, noting that they wouldn’t be anywhere without Michelle Yeoh. He also thanked A24 for saying: “Yes when many didn’t, thank you very much. Movies like this often don’t get a launch pad and you’re just the craziest studio and you always kind of take risks on movies like ours.” Scheinert thanked Kwan for “putting up with it when I asked to make our movie weirder and thank you for making our film so much braver and more vulnerable,” adding, “Holy shit, that’s crazy!”
Each year, each nominated feature film director receives a special presentation of their film and each nominee may give a speech. This year, Stephanie Hsu introduced her Everything Everywhere All at Once directors Kwan and Scheinert, while Denis Villeneuve introduced The Fabelmans director Steven Spielberg. Paul Thomas Anderson introduced Tars Todd Field, while Top Gun: Maverick producer Jerry Bruckheimer introduced the film’s director Joseph Kosinski. Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin) was not in attendance to speak, but the audience was treated to a sizzling reel of his film nonetheless.
Jason Bateman, nominated for an episode of Ozark in the Dramatic Series, presented the first award for Best Documentary. Fire of Love’s Sara Dosa won in that category, telling the audience: “Katia and Maurice literally died for their filmmaking. “Fire of Love isn’t about their deaths, it’s about how they lived and they lived for their love and their volcanoes. … I believe they died a meaningful death.”
Kumail Nanjiani presented the Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials and Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming Awards. Glenn Weiss won the 75th Annual Tony Awards award in the former category and told the crowd he and his wife Jan Svendsen finally eloped after publicly proposing to officiate at the 2018 Oscars following his Emmy win while Liz Patrick won Saturday Night Live in the latter. Patrick was not present, so Nanjiani accepted the award on her behalf.
Billy Eichner (Bros) and Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets) presented the awards for Best Directing Achievement in Children’s Programs and Reality Programs. Anne Renton won Children’s Program Recognition for Best Foot Forward, “Halloween,” while Ben Simms won the Reality Award for Running Wild with Bear Grylls, “Florence Pugh in the Volcanic Rainforests of Costa Rica.”
“What the hell am I doing here?” Simms joked as he took the stage to accept the award.
Aubrey Plaza took the stage to present the award for Directing TV Movies and Limited Series, but not before telling the audience, “I’ve been seated at the FBoy Island table and I love it! That’s where I belong!” Earlier in the evening, Apatow had remarked on how Plaza had been seated at that table. Helen Shaver won for her work on Station Eleven’s episode “Who’s There?”.
Mike Newell (Director of Four Weddings and a Funeral) presented the inaugural Feature Film Director’s Award. Charlotte Wells won for her film Aftersun but was not present to accept.
Presenting the commercials and comedy series categories, Regina Hall and James Marsden joked that presenting them together didn’t mean they were dating, instead they met on a presenter’s matchmaking app. Kim Gehrig won the advertising award while Bill Hader won for Barry’s episode “710N”. Hader was not present to accept the award.
“Let’s give Bill Hader one more round of applause for NOT showing up!” said Apatow, praising the winners who didn’t make it to the awards ceremony on Saturday night so the show could wrap up faster.
Anna Kendrick presented the award for Director Achievement in a Dramatic Series, which went to Sam Levinson for Euphoria.
Finally, Chloe Zhao, who took home the 2020 grand prize for Nomadland, presented the Daniels with the evening’s final award, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Motion Picture.
The full list of this year’s nominees and winners follows.
OUTSTANDING DIRECTION IN THE FEATURE FILM
Todd Field, Tár (focus functions)
Mr. Field’s team of directors:
Unit Production Manager: Nigel Wooll
First assistant director: Sebastian Fahr-Brix
Joseph Kosinski, Top Gun: Maverick (Paramount Pictures)
Mr. Kosinski’s team of directors:
Unit Production Managers: LeeAnn Stonebreaker, Tommy Harper
First Assistant Director: Scott Robertson
Second Assistant Director: Andrew Stahl, Robert E. Kay
Second Second Assistant Director: Spencer Taylor
Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, Everything Everywhere All at Once (A24) (WINNER)
Daniels’ directing team:
Unit Production Manager: Allison Rose Carter
First Assistant Director: Rodney Smith
Second Assistant Director: John Nasraway
Second Second Assistant Director: Ken C. Wu
Martin McDonagh, The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures)
Mr. McDonagh’s team of directors:
First assistant director: Peter Kohn
Steven Spielberg, The Fabelmans (Universal Pictures)
Mr. Spielberg’s directing team:
Production manager unit: Carla Raij
First Assistant Director: Josh McLaglen
Second Assistant Director: Heather Wagner-Wang
Second Second Assistant Director: David Stickler
OUTSTANDING DIRECTORY BY A FIRST CINEMA DIRECTOR
Alice Diop, Saint Omer (Neon)
Audrey Diwan, Happening (IFC Films)
John Patton Ford, Emily the Criminal (Roadside Attractions / Vertical)
Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic, Murina (Kino Lorber)
Charlotte Wells, Aftersun (A24) (WINNER)
Dramatic series
Jason Bateman, Ozark, “A Hard Way To Go” (Netflix)
Mr. Bateman’s Board of Directors:
Unit Production Managers: Dana Scott, Patrick Markey
First Assistant Director: Townson Wells
Second Assistant Director: Jill Somers
Second Second Assistant Director: Sarah Gorczyk
Additional second assistant director: Evan Marsh
Vince Gilligan, Better Call Saul, “Waterworks” (AMC)
Mr. Gilligan’s team of directors:
Unit Production Manager: Richard E. “Slab” Chaplain Jr.
First Assistant Director: Angie Meyer
Second Assistant Director: Louis A. Lanni
Second Second Assistant Director: Magin Gomez
Additional second assistant director: Nathan E. Davis
Sam Levinson, Euphoria, “Stand Still Like the Hummingbird” (HBO) (WINNER)
Mr. Levinson’s team of directors:
Unit Production Manager: Will Greenfield
First Assistant Directors: Valerie Johnson, Sally Brunski
Second Assistant Director: Cindy King, Colin Duffy
Second Second Assistant Director: James Chestnut
Additional second assistant director: Aaron Rose Leone
Aoife McArdle, Severance, “Hide and seek” (AppleTV+)
Ms. McArdle’s leadership team:
Unit Production Manager: Kristyn Macready
First Assistant Director: Ellen Parnett, Kit Bland
Second Assistant Directors: Sahar Shmolevitz, Melinda Ziyadat
Second Second Assistant Director: Kelsi Russell, Jack A. Birdsall
Other second assistant directors: Skylar Loraquette, Alexander Hirschl
Site Manager: Ryan Smith
Ben Stiller, Severance, “That We Are We” (Apple TV+)
Mr. Stiller’s management team:
Unit Production Manager: Kristyn Macready
First Assistant Director: Marco Londoner
Second Assistant Director: Matt Lake
Second Second Assistant Director: Kelsi Russell, Justin Bischoff, Jack A. Birdsall
Site Manager: Ryan Smith
COMEDY SERIES
Tim Burton, Wednesday, “Wednesday’s Child is Full of Woe” (Netflix)
Bill Hader, Barry, “710N” (HBO) (WINNER)
Mr. Hader’s management team:
Unit Production Manager: Aida Rodgers
First Assistant Director: Gavin Kleintop
Second Assistant Director: Erin Stern Linares
Second Second Assistant Director: Yarden Levo, Chalis Romero
Amy Sherman-Palladino, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, “How Do You Get Into Carnegie Hall?” (Amazon)
Ms. Sherman‑Palladino’s leadership team:
Unit Production Managers: Dhana Rivera Gilbert, Meghan K. Wicker
First Assistant Director: Julie A. Bloom
Second Assistant Director: Lisa McPherson
Second Second Assistant Director: Lincoln Major, Peter Nix
Additional second assistant directors: Cameron Boone, Conor Griff
Unit Assistant Production Managers: Nick Thomason, Luca Waldman
Site manager: Jose Guerrero
Christopher Storer, The Bear, “Review” (Hulu)
Mr. Storer’s team of directors:
Unit Production Manager: Carrie Holt De Lama
First Assistant Director: Duccio Fabbri
Second Assistant Director: Dan Gutierrez
Second Second Assistant Director: Nicole McGovern
Site Manager: Maria C. Roxas
Mike White, The White Lotus, “BYG” (HBO)
Mr. White’s team of directors:
Unit Production Manager: Mark Kamine
First Assistant Director: Justin Ritson
Second Assistant Director: Joe Landry
Second Second Assistant Director: Bobby Teten
FILMS FOR TELEVISION AND LIMITED SERIES
Eric Appel, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (Roku Channel)
Mr. Appel’s management team:
Unit Production Manager: Jason C. Brown
First Assistant Director: Emily Neumann
Second Assistant Director: Julie Cummings
Second Second Assistant Director: Oscar Flores
Deborah Chow, Obi Wan Kenobi (Disney+)
Ms. Chow’s leadership team:
Unit Production Managers: Thomas Hayslip, Susan McNamara
First assistant director: Katterli Frauenfelder
Second Assistant Director: Jeff Hubbard
Second Second Assistant Director: Isaac Mejia, Franny Stafford
Additional Second Assistant Director: Alaina Neumann
Jeremy Podeswa, Station Eleven, “Unbroken Circle” (HBO Max)
Mr. Podeswa’s leadership team:
Unit Production Manager: David Nicksay
First Assistant Director: Andrew Shea, Derek Peterson, Jennifer Wilkinson
Helen Shaver, Station Elf, “Who’s There?” (HBO Max) (WINNER)
Ms. Shaver’s management team:
Unit Production Manager: David Nicksay
First Assistant Director: Jennifer Wilkinson
Second assistant director: Anna Vogt
Tom Verica, Inventing Anna, “The Devil Wore Anna” (Netflix)
Mr. Verica’s leadership team:
Unit Production Manager: Brette Bülow, Mary Kane (LA unit)
First Assistant Director: Dylan Hopkins, Marisia Moreno, Carol Vitkay (LA Unit)
Second Assistant Directors: Adam Bernard, Maggie Callis, Cara McCastlain Fisher (LA Unit)
Second Second Assistant Director: Pam Giangreco, Ellen Parnett, Heidi Hinzman (LA Unit)
Site manager: Kristin Dromboski
DIVERSITY/TALK/NEWS/SPORT – REGULAR PROGRAMMING
Paul G. Casey, Real Time with Bill Maher, “Episode #2010” (HBO)
Mr. Casey’s Board of Directors:
Deputy Director: Stacy Talbot
Stage Managers: Brian Anderson, Patrick Whitney
Jim Hoskinson, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, “Episode #1333” (CBS)
Mr. Hoskinson’s team of directors:
Associate Directors: Yvonne De Mare, Karen Yaeger
Stage Managers: Mark McKenna, Jeff Leib
David Paul Meyer, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, “Brandi Carlile Reviews Her New Deluxe Album and Performs “You and Me on the Rock”” (Comedy Central)
Mr. Meyer’s management team:
Deputy Director: Adrienne Ford
Stage Managers: Bennymar Almonte, Nick Bailey
Liz Patrick, Saturday Night Live, “Host and Musical Guest Jack Harlow” (NBC) (WINNER)
Ms. Patrick’s management team:
Associate Directors: Michael Mancini, Michael Poole, Laura Ouziel‑Mack
Stage Managers: Gena Rositano, Chris Kelly, Eddie Valk
Paul Pennolino, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, “Afghanistan” (HBO)
Mr. Pennolino’s team of directors:
Associate Director: Elliot Mendelson
Stage Managers: Jeff Leib, Mark McKenna, Craig Spinney
DIVERSITY/TALK/NEWS/SPORT – SPECIALS
Ian Berger, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Globe – Hungary for Democracy (Comedy Central)
Hamish Hamilton, Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show 2022 (NBC)
Mr. Hamilton’s team of directors:
Associate Directors: Hayley Collett, Sara Niimi
Stage Managers: Gary Natoli, Jeffry Gitter, Karen Tasch Weiss, Donna Parker, Tammy Raab, Zachary Figures, Jackie Stathis, Johnny Pruitt, Jennifer Marquet
James Merryman, Norman Lear: 100 Years of Music and Laughter (ABC)
Mr. Merryman’s directing team:
Associate Directors: Lizz Zanin, Leslie Vincent
Stage Managers: Ron Paul, Jackie Paul, Jackie Stathis, Alissa Levisohn Hoyo, Jason Drew
Marcus Raboy, Mark Twain Prize 2022: Celebrating Jon Stewart (PBS)
Mr. Raboy’s Board of Directors:
Associate Directors: Robin Mishkin Abrams, Kelly Hernacki
Stage Managers: Rhoda Gilmore, Doug Fogel, Annette Powlis
Glenn Weiss, The 75th Annual Tony Awards (CBS) (WINNER)
Mr. Weiss’ management team:
Associate Directors: Ken Diego, Robin Abrams, Susan Kopensky, Ricky Kirshner
Stage Managers: Garry Hood, Bennymar Almonte, Phyllis Digilio, Peter Epstein, Andrew Feigin, Doug Fogel, Jeffry Gitter, Tyler Goldman, Arthur Lewis, Kevin Lishawa, Julie LoRusso, Seth Mellman, Jason Pacella, Jeffrey Pearl, Annette Powlis, Lauren Class Schneider , Eddie Valk
REALITY PROGRAMS
JOSEPH H. GUIDRY, The Big Brunch, “Carb Loading Brunch” (HBO Max)
Mr. Guidry’s leadership team:
Associate Director: Sean P. Galvin
Stage Managers: Rachel Shimko, JC Babas, Winston Churchill, Patty Sosa
CARRIE HAVEL, The Go‑Big Show, “Only One Can Win” (TBS)
Ms. Havel’s management team:
Associate Director: Dara DiGerolamo
Stage Managers: Rafael Orozco, Linda Carizzo, Patricia Sosa, Greg Rosa, Ike Fuchs, Theresa Moio
RICH KIM, Lego Masters, “Jurass Brick World” (FOX)
Mr. Kim’s team of directors:
Deputy Director: Ryan Bunnell
Stage Managers: Will Baker, Ken Cooper
MICHAEL SHEA, FBoy Island, “Do you like cats?” (HBO Max)
Mr. Shea’s leadership team:
Assistant Director: Tori Himes
Stage manager: JC Babas
BEN SIMMS, Running Wild with Bear Grylls, “Florence Pugh in the Volcanic Rainforests of Costa Rica” (National Geographic Channel) (WINNER)
The management team of Mr. Simms:
Deputy Director: Sara Brown
CHILDREN PROGRAMS
TIM FEDERLE, Better Nate Than Ever (Disney+)
Mr. Federle’s management team:
Unit Production Manager: Guy Efrat, Pamela Thur
First Assistant Director: Danielle Rigby
Second Assistant Director: Brad Robinson
Second Second Assistant Director: Billy Brennan
Additional second assistant directors: Annie Tompkins, Jes Norris
Site manager: Michael Buonanno
BONNIE HUNT, Amber Brown, “I, Amber Brown” (Apple TV+)
Ms. Hunt’s leadership team:
Unit Production Manager: Jeff T. Miller
First Assistant Director: Troy Rohovit
Second Assistant Director: Cody Harbaugh
Second Second Assistant Director: Rachel Moceri
Dean Israelite, Are You Afraid of the Dark?, The Tale of Room 13” (Nickelodeon)
Mr. Israelite’s leadership team:
First Assistant Director: Sinan Saber
Second Assistant Director: Ashley Bell
Michael Lembeck, Snow Day The Musical (Paramount+)
Mr. Lembeck’s management team:
Unit Production Manager: Julie Kovisars
Anne Renton, Best Foot Forward, “Halloween” (Apple TV+) (WINNER)
Ms. Renton’s leadership team:
Unit Production Manager: Lance W. Lanfear
First Assistant Director: Nandi Bowe
Second Assistant Director: Susie Balaban
Second Second Assistant Director: Tim Neven
ADVERTISING
Juan Cabral (MJZ)
For all moments in life, John Lewis – adam&eveDDB
First Assistant Director: Ben Glickman
Share the Joy, Apple AirPods – TBWA\Media Arts Lab
Kim Gehrig (Somesuch, Inc.) (WINNER)
Accessibility, Apple – Apple (Direct)
First Assistant Director: Michael Estrella
Second Assistant Director: Brian Steffen
Second Second Assistant Director: Shauna Frontera
Run Baby Run, iPhone – Apple (Direct)
First Assistant Director: Matias Nilsson
Second Assistant Director: Carl Jackson
Second Second Assistant Director: Michael Paulson
Craig Gillespie (MJZ)
Hard Knocks, Apple Watch Series 7 – Apple
First Assistant Director: Christian Van Fleet
Problem, Jimmy John’s – anomaly
First Assistant Director: Christian Van Fleet
Second Assistant Director: Greg Moutran
Second Second Assistant Director: Christopher Maltauro
Thrill Driver, Nissan – TBWA\Chiat\Day NY
First assistant director: Francois Caillaud
Second Assistant Director: Rob Topp
Second Second Assistant Director: Michael Dudley
David Shane (O Positive, LLC)
Detectives, iPhone 13 Pro ‑ Apple
First Assistant Director: Greg McCollum
Second assistant director: Heidi Vanderjagt
Smile, ITVX – Unusual
Traffic delay, native – M/H
Ivan Zachariáš (smuggler)
Data Auction, iPhone – TBWA\ Media Arts Lab
First Assistant Director: Brian Carmody
This is how we work now, Upwork ‑ Alto
DOCUMENTARY
Sara Dosa, Fire of Love (National Geographic) (WINNER)
Matthew Heineman, Retrograde (Disney+)
Laura Poitras, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (NEON)
Daniel Roher, Navalny (CNN+/HBO Max)
Shaunak Sen, Anything That Breathes (HBO/HBO Max)