Mars and Venus

In 81 years of Best Director, Men: 395, Women: 3

AMPAS is notoriously biased against female filmmakers. It snubbed Barbra Streisand not once, but twice, for her acclaimed films Yentl and The Prince of Tides. Babs called it "a great step back in the cause of women" when her name was left off the ballot for a second time in 1991.

This famous prejudice could likely be righted this year. Some of the biggest films this season are helmed by women. Jane Campion (a nominee in 1993 for The Piano) is in the fray with Bright Star, Lone Scherfig has the festival fave An Education, and Kathryn Bigelow is a strong contender for the critical smash The Hurt Locker.

What do you think? Are we finally going to see a bit of balance in the director race or are more unthinkable snubs ahead?

THE HURT LOCKER

Screenplay by Mark Boal

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow

Jeremy Renner

Anthony Mackie

Brian Geraghty

Evangeline Lilly

Ralph Fiennes

Guy Pearce

Premiere date: September 4, 2008 (Venice Film Festival)

R for war violence and language.

Three members of the Army's elite Explosives Ordnance Disposal (EOD) squad battle insurgents and one another as they search for and disarm a wave of roadside bombs on the streets of Baghdad - in order to try to make the city a safer place for Iraqis and Americans alike. Their mission is clear - protect and save - but it's anything but easy, as the margin of terror when defusing a war-zone bomb is zero. This near-perfect action picture is a thrilling and heart-pounding look at the psychology of bomb technicians and the effects of risk and danger on the human psyche.xxx

AWARDS INFO COMING WHEN AVAILABLE