Since my last predictions for Director back in March, there have been some big shifts across the cinematic landscape, causing a major impact on my predictions. The most notable thing to happen since March was the Cannes Film Festival, which has had a strong correlation with the Academy in recent times, with 3 of the past 4 Palme d’Or winners going on to receive Best Director nominations: Justine Triet –‘Anatomy of a Fall’, Ruben Ostlund – ‘Triangle of Sadness’ and most famously Bong Joon-ho for ‘Parasite’.
If the trend were to continue, there is a strong claim to make for Sean Baker has is romantic drama ‘Anora’ took home the big prize this year and could see the 53-year-old receive his first Oscar nomination. Another potential Cannes release that could score a director nomination is the inspirational ‘The Seed of the Sacred Fig’, helmed by exiled Iranian filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof.
Disappointments coming out of the festival include Francis Ford Coppola‘s ‘Megalopolis’, and Ali Abbasi’s Donald Trump biopic ‘The Apprentice’. There were also solid but not strong reviews for Yorgos Lanthimos‘ ‘Kinds and Kindness’ and George Miller‘s ‘Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga’ which sees them drop down the pecking order a bit.
Full list of Director predictions – June 2024:
Strong Contenders
- Denis Villeneuve “Dune: Part Two”
- Steve McQueen “Blitz”
- Sean Baker “Anora”
- Greg Kwedar “Sing Sing”
- Todd Phillips “Joker: Folie a Deux”
Possible Contenders
- Edward Berger “Conclave”
- Luca Guadagnino “Queer”
- Mohammad Rasoulof “The Seed of the Sacred Fig”
- George Miller “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”
- Joshua Oppenheimer “The End”
Outsiders
- Yorgos Lanthimos “Kinds of Kindness”
- Ridley Scott “Gladiator II”
- Robert Eggers “Nosferatu”
- Clint Eastwood “Juror No. 2”
- Jesse Eisenberg “A Real Pain”
Dan Loves Film 
There are some really terrific Artists showcasing singular visions in filmmaking…which is great to see!
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