Natalie Portman has a criticism of the 2026 Oscars and not without reason

Photo: Natalie Portman/ Reuters

While promoting her new film, "The Gallerist," at the Sundance Film Festival, Natalie Portman criticized the Oscars for not recognizing several films created by female directors during the nominations.

"Some of the most beautiful films I've seen this year have been made by women. You understand the obstacles and inequalities at every level, as many of them were not appreciated at all during the awards ceremony," the actress said.

Then, she mentioned some of them, such as "Sorry Baby," "Left-Handed Girl," "Hedda," and "The Testament of Ann Lee." According to her, all of these are extraordinary films and people love them very much, but they are not getting the recognition they deserve.

She said that a film is very difficult to make, let alone have it completely finished just before awards season.

"It's very difficult to secure all the necessary money, but even more difficult is to be part of such events. Each step becomes even more difficult until the film is finished and it is fantastic, but it doesn't get the recognition it deserves. We still have a lot of work to do."

During the announcement of the nominations for the 2026 Oscars, Chloé Zhao (Hamnet) was the only woman nominated for the "Best Director" award.

While in the "Best Foreign Language Film" category, there is only one film by a female director, "The Voice of Hind Rajab" by Kaouther Ben Hania.

Natalie Portman is also nominated for the 2026 Oscars as co-producer for the film "Arco", which is competing for the "Best Animated Feature" award.