Oscars: Mank leads nominations that include two female directors

The film industry’s biggest awards have been delayed by the pandemic in a year when most cinemas were closed.

David Fincher’s Mank led nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards with 10 nods on Monday, and for the first time, two women — Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell — were tipped for best director. Eight films were nominated for best picture. Mank was joined by Fennell’s Promising Young Woman, Zhao’s Nomadland, Judas and the Black Messiah, Sound of Metal, Minari, The Father and The Trial of the Chicago 7. History was made in the best director category. Only five women have ever been nominated in the category before. Zhao is the first woman of Asian descent to get a nod — and the most nominated woman in a single year in Oscar history. She also got nominations for the film’s adapted screenplay, editing and, as a producer in the best picture category.