Oscar nominations 2018: Jordan Peele and Greta Gerwig's Best Director nods are a win for diversity and creativity

The filmmakers have been nominated for their debut films Lady Bird and Get Out

Today (23 January) saw both Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele score Academy Award nominations in the category of Best Director for their work on Lady Bird and Get Out .

Let that sink in: Greta Gerwig and Jordan Peele - two first-time directors: one female, one black - are nominated alongside filmmaking stalwarts Paul Thomas Anderson (Phantom Thread), Christopher Nolan (Dunkirk) and Guillermo del Toro (The Shape of Water) for their work directing a horror film and humble coming-of-age tale far removed from standard Oscar bait fodder.

In many ways, this is an Oscars milestone that demands to be celebrated.

Their inclusion in this year's Best Director category marks the second time a woman and black director have both been nominated in the category in the history of the Oscars following nods for Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker) and Lee Daniels (Precious) in 2010 (the former went on to win, memorably beating her ex-husband James Cameron who'd been nominated for Avatar).

Are voters finally taking notice following the post-#OscarsSoWhite shakeup? It certainly seems so considering these particular awards - not to mention others - constantly displayed such a deficit when awarding diversity in this category, one which has a history of failing to celebrate female and black directors nearly as enough as it should.

Just two years ago, following the #OscarsSoWhite controversy, it was near unthinkable that creativity displayed by a filmmaker such as Peele in Get Out - a genre film not usually nominated for Oscars - would ever be celebrated.

Just last month, the Golden Globes - a ceremony mostly hailed for the commendable manner in which it championed the TimesUp movement following the spate of sexual harassment allegations in Hollywood - handed Lady Bird the trophy for 'Best Film - Comedy/Musical' without actually honouring Gerwig, the woman who made the assured debut such a deserving recipient.

Their inclusion in the Best Director category is a step in the right direction that's made it the most exciting nominee list in years. Still, Gerwig is just the fifth woman to ever be nominated in the category following Bigelow, Sofia Coppola (Lost In Translation), Jane Campion (The Piano) and Lena Wertmüller (Seven Beauties), while Peele is currently the fifth black director to ever be nominated after the aforementioned Daniels, John Singleton (Boyz N the Hood), Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) and Moonlight filmmaker Barry Jenkins just last year. There is still a long way to go.

This year's Best Director list is a step in the right direction, at least, bolstered by the fact it's recognising two first-time filmmakers - ones whose debut features showcase such assurance that they're undoubtedly going on to direct many more deserving films - is a revelation at once exciting and just (the last time it happened was for Benh Zeitlin whose debut Beasts of the Southern Wild scored a nomination in 2012).

To put this aspect into perspective, it's the equivalent of Nolan getting nominated for Following, Paul Thomas Anderson for Hard Eight (his only nomination to date was for There Will Be Blood) and del Toro getting a nod for Mexican chiller Cronos.

Just two years ago, Peele's and Gerwig's future nominations would have sadly been unlikely bets - but in the wake of the #OscarsSoWhite controversy as well as the recent TimesUp movement, it actually feels as if the playing field has been reset. Let's give it time - the tide could be turning.

For this year at least, diversity and creativity win.

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