This is the big one.  If a film receives a Narrative Feature Film nomination from the Directors Guild, that will probably also lead to it receiving an Oscar nod for Best Picture.  Occasionally, a film will get a DGA nom without also getting an Oscar nom but it’s an increasingly rare occurrence.  And since there’s guaranteed to be ten Best Picture nominees this year, it makes sense that the first five films listed below will be among them.

Here are the DGA nominations:

NARRATIVE FEATURE FILM
Paul Thomas Anderson – Licorice Pizza
Kenneth Branagh – Belfast
Jane Campion – The Power of the Dog
Steven Spielberg – West Side Story
Denis Villeneuve – Dune

FIRST TIME NARRATIVE FEATURE FILM
Maggie Gyllenhaal – The Lost Daughter
Rebecca Hall – Passing
Tatiana Huezo – Prayers For The Stolen
Lin Manuel-Miranda – Tick, Tick…BOOM!
​Michael Sarnoski – Pig
Emma Seligman – Shiva Baby

​DOCUMENTARY
Jessica Kingdon – Ascension
Stanley Nelson – Attica
Raoul Peck – Exterminate All The Brutes
Questlove – Summer of Soul
Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi & Jimmy Chin – The Rescue

It wouldn’t surprise me if some of the films nominated for First Time Narrative Film also showed up in the best picture race.  Tick….Tick….Boom!, in particular, appears to be popular with the guilds.  Passing and The Lost Daughter also have their supporters.  And I’ll always hold out hope that either Pig or especially Shiva Baby will surprise people.