This awards season, Ryan Coogler has added another milestone to his already influential career. The filmmaker behind Sinners has become only the third Black person in Academy Awards history to receive nominations in the same year for producing, directing, and screenwriting, placing him in rare, elite company.
Coogler’s Sinners shattered records at the 98th Academy Awards nominations, earning a staggering 16 Oscar nods, the most in Academy history for any single movie.
Before Coogler, only two other Black filmmakers had reached this rare milestone of earning nominations in the same year for producing, directing, and screenwriting: Jordan Peele, whose groundbreaking Get Out earned nods for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay (and ultimately won for screenplay), and Spike Lee, who received multiple nominations for BlacKkKlansman in 2018.
Now Coogler joins that exclusive group. His nominations this year include Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture (as one of Sinners’ producers), highlighting his multi-faceted role in bringing the project to life.
Coogler’s recognition also situates him within a broader lineage of Black filmmakers who have earned Oscar nominations for Best Director, joining a trailblazing group of storytellers across generations.
That list includes pioneers like John Singleton (Boyz n the Hood), Lee Daniels (Precious), Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), Peele, and Lee.
Sinners‘ 16 nominations span major categories like Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Michael B. Jordan), and Best Supporting nods for Delroy Lindo and Wunmi Mosaku.
Whether Sinners brings home statuettes on Oscar night or not, Coogler’s triple nomination alone is significant and should be celebrated.
