US filmmaker Damien Chazelle’s bid for Oscars glory was boosted Saturday as he took top prize at the Directors Guild of America honors — a key predictor for the Academy Awards.
Chazelle was crowned best director for his dreamy tribute to the heyday of Hollywood musicals, “La La Land,” three weeks ahead of the glittering culmination of Hollywood’s annual awards season.
The 32-year-old has already scooped two Golden Globes for directing and writing “La La Land,” a sumptuous throwback to the halcyon days of Old Hollywood.
A darling of this awards season, his movie has amassed a record seven Globes and 14 nominations for the Oscars, including for best picture, best director and for its two stars, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone.
“Movies are powerful because they speak to everyone. They speak to all countries, all cultures,” Chazelle, whose father is French-American, told fellow filmmakers at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.
A feature of speeches during the awards season has been criticism or mocking of US President Donald Trump, and the DGAs were no different.
Chazelle berated the Republican for his travel ban on nationals of seven Muslim-majority countries — put on hold for now by a federal judge — which would stop filmmakers like Oscar-nominated Iranian Asghar Farhadi attending the Academy Awards.
“That’s the most beautiful idea of all — that art can make someone anywhere in the world feel like they are a bit bigger than they ever imagined,” Chazelle added.
The director edged out Kenneth Lonergan, nominated for visceral family drama “Manchester by the Sea” — another film seen as top contender for Oscar glory on February 26.
“Manchester” was nominated for five Golden Globes in January but only ended up taking home the best actor prize for Casey Affleck.

Source: Arab News