With The Wrong Kind of Women, Naomi McDougall Jones Makes the Case for Gender Parity in the Film Industry
The day the nominations for the 2020 Academy Awards were announced was a frustrating time for Naomi McDougall Jones. The actor, screenwriter, and award-winning independent filmmaker (Imagine I’m Beautiful (2014), Bite Me (2019)) has long been an advocate for gender parity in the film industry. Her TEDTalk, What It’s Like to be a Woman in Hollywood, has been viewed over one million times. Jones was disappointed, but not surprised, that not one woman was nominated in the Best Director Category. “The all-male directors nomination knocked the wind out of even me,” Jones says. “The fact that the top four nominated films are so blatantly, not only by and about white men, but they read like a bad punchline to a joke. It’s unbelievable.” In the 92-year history of the Academy Awards, only five women have been nominated for Best Director. Only one, Kathryn Bigelow has won (Hurt Locker). Despite her frustration, Jones is continuing to lead the revolution she outlin