First Woman Wins Oscar for Best Director
March 8, 2010
Kathryn Bigelow has become the first woman to win the Oscar for Best Director at the 82nd annual Academy Awards. Nominated for nine Academy Awards, The Hurt Locker took home six awards at the ceremony held Sunday, March 7, 2010. Previous female director nominee, Barbara Streisand, present Bigelow her award.
The Hurt Locker tells the story of a bomb squad in the Army’s elite Explosive Ordinance Disposal squad. The movie brings the stress and cost of life of the Iraq war up close and personal.
Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman to receive the Actors Guild of America award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for The Hurt Locker. “I’ve spent a fair amount of time thinking about what my aptitude is, and I really think it’s to explore and push the medium. It’s not about breaking gender roles or genre traditions,” said Bigelow.