DGA Awards 2025: A precursor to the Oscars, the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards took place on February 8 as Anora director Sean Baker picked up a big win for his film. He was awarded the DGA Award for Best Theatrical Feature. 

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Anora director wins Best Theatrical Feature

The film previously surprised at the Critics Choice Awards where it won Best Picture. That was the only award it won that night after claiming the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. Festival watchers now feel that that film has become an Oscar hopeful. 

Ang Lee receives DGA Lifetime Achievement Award

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Also, at the 77th DGA Awards,legendary filmmaker Ang Lee was given the Guild’s highest honour, the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award. Ang Lee is a two-time Oscar-winning director of Brokeback Mountain and Life of Pi. He received the award from his Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon star Michelle Yeoh. In the Guild’s 88-year history, just 36 directors have been recognised with this honour, including Frank Capra (1959), Alfred Hitchcock (1968), Orson Welles (1984), Billy Wilder (1985), Steven Spielberg (2000), Martin Scorsese (2003), Miloš Forman (2013), Ridley Scott (2017), and most recently Spike Lee (2022).

Oscar-hopeful controversial narco-musical Emilia Perez wins Spanish film prize

The DGA Awards 2025 had Judd Apatow as its host, who took a dig at President Trump among other controversial figures. DGA President Lesli Linka Glatter opened the ceremony, paying tribute to the first responders who bravely took on the LA wildfires.

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Also among the winners was Nickel Boys helmer RaMell Ross, who took home the first-time director prize. His visionary drama is nominated for two Oscars, including best picture and adapted screenplay. The duo Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev walked away with the documentary category for Porcelain War.

See the full list of winners here:

Film Categories

Theatrical Feature Film

Jacques Audiard — “Emilia Pérez” (Netflix)
Sean Baker — “Anora” (Neon) — WINNER
Edward Berger — “Conclave” (Focus Features)
Brady Corbet — “The Brutalist” (A24)
James Mangold — “A Complete Unknown” (Searchlight Pictures)

Michael Apted First Time Directorial Feature

Payal Kapadia — “All We Imagine as Light” (Janus Films/Sideshow)
Megan Park — “My Old Ass” (Amazon MGM Studios)
RaMell Ross — “Nickel Boys” (Amazon MGM Studios) — WINNER
Halfdan Ullmann Tøndel — “Armand” (IFC Films)
Sean Wang — “Dìdi” (Focus Features)

Richard Gere calls Donald Trump a 'bully', a 'thug' in his acceptance speech at Goya Awards

Documentary

Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev – “Porcelain War” (Picturehouse) — WINNER
Julian Brave NoiseCat & Emily Kassie – “Sugarcane” (National Geographic)
Johan Grimonprez – “Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat” (Kino Lorber)
Ibrahim Nash’at – “Hollywoodgate” (Fourth Act Film)
Natalie Rae & Angela Patton – “Daughters” (Netflix)
TV Categories

Dramatic Series

Alex Graves – “The Diplomat,” “Dreadnought” (Netflix)
Hiromi Kamata – “Shōgun,” “Ladies of the Willow World” (FX)
Issa López – “True Detective: Night Country,” “Part 6” (HBO)
Frederick E.O. Toye – “Shōgun,” “Crimson Sky” (FX) — WINNER
Jonathan Van Tulleken – “Shōgun,” “Anjin” (FX)

Comedy Series

Lucia Aniello – “Hacks,” “Bulletproof” (HBO/Max) — WINNER
Ayo Edebiri – “The Bear,” “Napkins” (FX)
Duccio Fabbri – “The Bear,” “Doors” (FX)
Jeff Schaffer – “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “No Lessons Learned” (HBO/Max)
Christopher Storer – “The Bear,” “Tomorrow” (FX)

Movies for Television and Limited Series

Kevin Bray – “The Penguin,” “Top Hat” (HBO/Max)
Alfonso Cuarón – “Disclaimer” (Apple TV+)
Jennifer Getzinger – “The Penguin,” “A Great or Little Thing” (HBO/Max)
Helen Shaver – “The Penguin,” “Cent’anni” (HBO/Max)
Steven Zaillian – “Ripley” (Netflix) – WINNER

Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming

Paul G. Casey – “Real Time with Bill Maher,” “Jiminy Glick, Andrew Cuomo, Adam Kinzinger” (HBO/Max)
Jim Hoskinson – “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Rep. Alexandria Ocasio‑Cortez & Mavis Staples w/ Jeff Tweedy” (CBS)
David Paul Meyer – “The Daily Show,” “Indecision 2024: The Democratic National Convention ‑ Plot Twist!” (Comedy Central)
Liz Patrick – “Saturday Night Live,” “John Mulaney / Chappell Roan” (NBC) — WINNER
Paul Pennolino – “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” “India Elections” (HBO/Max)

Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials

Hamish Hamilton – “The 96th Annual Academy Awards” (ABC)
Beth McCarthy‑Miller – “The Roast of Tom Brady” (Netflix) — WINNER
David Paul Meyer – “The Daily Show Presents A Live Election Night Special With Jon Stewart: Indecision 2024: Nothing We Can Do About It Now” (Comedy Central)
Glenn Weiss – “The 77th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)
Ali Wong – “Ali Wong: Single Lady” (Netflix)

Reality Programs

Neil DeGroot – “Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted,” “The Cliffs of Ireland” (National Geographic) — WINNER
Joseph Guidry – “Deal Or No Deal Island,” “Are You Decisive?” (NBC)
Ari Katcher – “Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show,” “Road Trip” (HBO/Max)
Patrick McManus – “American Ninja Warrior,” “Las Vegas Finals 4” (NBC)
Mike Sweeney – “Conan O’Brien Must Go,” “Ireland” (Max)

Children’s Programs

Kat Coiro – “The Spiderwick Chronicles,” “Welcome to Spiderwick” (Roku Channel)
Michael Goi – “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” “Aang” (Netflix)
Jim Mickle – “Sweet Tooth,” “This Is a Story” (Netflix)
Jennifer Phang – “Descendants: The Rise of Red” (Disney+)
Amber Sealey – “Out of My Mind” (Disney+) — WINNER

Commercials

Lance Acord – “An American Love Story” (Park Pictures)
Kim Gehrig – “A Life in Sound” (Somesuch)
Kim Gehrig – “Am I A Bad Person?” (Somesuch)
Kim Gehrig – “Find Your Friends” (Somesuch)
Tim Heidecker & Eric Wareheim – “Michael CeraVe” (Prettybird)
Andreas Nilsson – “Board Game” (Biscuit Filmworks)
Andreas Nilsson – “First Office Poo” (Biscuit Filmworks)
Andreas Nilsson – “One More” (Biscuit Filmworks)
Andreas Nilsson – “Whizzer” (Biscuit Filmworks) — WINNER
Ivan Zachariáš – “Flock” (Smuggler)