Anora director Sean Baker accepted the top prize at the 77th Annual Directors Guild of America Awards, held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills on Saturday.
Baker’s, 53, independent film continued to gain Oscar momentum as it won the DGA Award for Theatrical Feature.
‘I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be able to do thing I knew I wanted to do since I was 5 years old,’ he told the crowd as he accepted the award, as per Variety.
Baker, whose film recently secured a surprise win at the Critics Choice Award, beat out Jacques Audiard (Emilia Perez), Edward Berger (Conclave), Brady Corbet (The Brutalist) and James Mangold (A Complete Unknown) for the prize.
Anora stars Mikey Madison as an adult dancer who impetuously marries the son of a Russian oligarch, only to have his handlers go to shocking ends to annul the marriage.
Meanwhile Emilia Pérez director Jacques, 72, gave a surprise shout-out to under-fire star Karla Sofía Gascon, 52, as he accepted the DGA medallion for his nomination in the top prize category.
Anora director Sean Baker, 53, accepted the top prize at the 77th Annual Directors Guild of America Awards, held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills on Saturday
Meanwhile Emilia Pérez director Jacques Audiard, 72, gave a surprise shout-out to lead star Karla Sofía Gascón as he accepted the DGA medallion for his nomination in the top prize category
Audiard thanked ‘his beloved actresses’ despite Gascon’s recent controversy, as her offensive tweets, that have been described as Islamophobic and racist, have threatened to derail the film’s awards hopes.
The French filmmaker said, via translator, ‘The last word is for my wonderful cast, my beloved actresses, Karla, Zoë, Selena, Adriana and Edgar, who is not an actress.’
The mention of Gascon was particularly surprising in light of his recent interview with ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, where he stated, ‘I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to.’
Read More 2025 DGA Awards: Demi Moore leads star red carpet arrivals 
On Friday, Gascon vowed to remain silent for the rest of the awards season after skeletons from her past emerged, all but tanking her chance to become the first transgender person to win an Academy Award.
In a post on Instagram, the Emilia Perez star wrote: ‘I decided, for the film, for Jacques, for the cast, for the incredible crew who deserves it, for the beautiful adventure we all had together, to let the work talk for itself, hoping my silence will allow the film to be appreciated for what it is, a beautiful ode to love and difference.’
‘I sincerely apologize to everyone who has been hurt along the way.’
Emilia Perez, which also stars Selena Gomez, is a musical crime comedy about a cartel leader (Gascon) in Mexico who undergoes a gender transition to escape the law and start a new life.
It comes after neither Emilia Perez star Zoe Saldana or the film’s composers mentioned Gascon in their victory speeches at the 2025 Critics’ Choice Awards on Friday.
Saldana starred opposite Gascon in the Netflix film, and earned the Critics’ Choice Award for Best Supporting Actress while El Mal – a track featuring the vocals of both Saldana and Gascon – won Best Song.
Baker’s, 53, independent film continued to gain Oscar momentum as it won the DGA Award for Theatrical Feature
‘I feel like the luckiest guy in the world to be able to do thing I knew I wanted to do since I was 5 years old,’ he told the crowd as he accepted the award, as per Variety
The film’s star Mikey Madison was pictured speaking onstage
She looked stylish in a white ʙuттon-up shirt
She paired the look with a black skirt
The verité-style comedy Anora stars Mikey as an adult dancer who impetuously marries the son of a Russian oligarch, only to have his handlers go to shocking ends to annul the marriage
Audiard thanked ‘his beloved actresses’ despite Gascon’s recent controversy, as her offensive tweets, that have been described as Islamophobic and racist, have threatened to derail the film’s awards hopes
The mention of Gascon was particularly surprising in light of his recent interview with ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, where he stated, ‘I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to’
Zoe Saldana introduced the film
She looked chic in a polka dot top
Gascon was plunged into controversy last month after her past offensive tweets surfaced, and Audiard as well as Netflix publicly distanced themselves from the transgender actress; seen in a still
The Brutalist star Adrien Brody took the stage, looking sharp in a black suit
The Brutalist director, Brady Corbet, pictured accepting a Directors Guild of America Feature Film Medallion
Elle Fanning was also present, and looked chic in a cream blouse
Michelle Yeoh presented Lee with the guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award
Sebastian Stan looked sharp in a suit
Gascon was plunged into controversy last month after her past offensive tweets surfaced, and Audiard as well as Netflix publicly distanced themselves from the transgender actress.
The controversy surrounding Gascon broke just weeks before the Oscars, where Emilia Perez is up for multiple awards, including Best Actress for Karla.
Recently Audiard condemned Gascon and accused her of hurting the cast and crew of Emilia Perez by refusing to stay silent in the wake of her social media scandal.
‘I haven’t spoken to her, and I don’t want to. She is in a self-destructive approach that I can’t interfere in, and I really don’t understand why she’s continuing. Why is she harming herself? Why?’ he told ᴅᴇᴀᴅline.
‘I’m thinking in this thing of how hurting others, of how she’s hurting the crew and all these people who worked so incredibly hard on this film. I’m thinking of myself, I’m thinking of Zoe [Saldaña] and Selena [Gomez]. I just don’t understand why she’s continuing to harm us,’ he continued.
‘I’m not getting in touch with her because right now she needs space to reflect and take accountability for her actions.’
Despite his harsh words, Audiard admitted that he had a great relationship with Gascon up until her old social media posts came to light.
Sean and Mikey proudly posed together following the big win
He looked dapper in a grey suit
Jacques got a big hug from Zoe
He posed with Corbet
‘It’s very hard for me to think back to the work I did with Karla Sofía. The trust we shared, the exceptional atmosphere that we had on the set that was indeed based on trust,’ he said.
‘And when you have that kind of relationship and suddenly you read something that that person has said, things that are absolutely hateful and worthy of being hated, of course that relationship is affected. It’s as if you fall into a hole. Because what Karla Sofía said is inexcusable.’
He also accused the actress of ‘playing the victim’ in the wake of the scandal.
Variety has also reported that Gascon’s image has been scrubbed from a lot of the Emilia Perez promotional material, as Netflix shifts their focus to centering their campaign around Zoe, who is nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
Elsewhere at the DGA’s, RaMell Ross took the Michael Apted First-Time Theatrical Feature Film award for Nickel Boys.
The Brutalist star Adrien Brody took the stage, looking sharp in a black suit.
The Brutalist director, Brady Corbet, also accepted a DGA medallion at the awards show.
Elle Fanning was also present, and looked chic in a cream blouse. Meanwhile Sebastian Stan looked sharp in a suit.
Michelle Yeoh presented Lee with the guild’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
Judd Apatow served as host of the DGAs for the sixth time.
DGA Awards 2025 winners
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Theatrical Feature Film
Sean Baker – Anora
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series
Frederick E.O. Toye – Shogun, ‘Crimson Sky’ (FX)
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television and Limited Series
Steven Zaillian – Ripley (Netflix)
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Specials
Beth McCarthy-Miller – The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady (Netflix)
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Children’s Programs
Amber Sealey – Out of My Mind (Disney+)
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary
Brendan Bellomo & Slava Leontyev -Porcelain War (Picturehouse)
Michael Apted Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in First-Time Theatrical Feature Film
Ramell Ross – Nickel Boys
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy Series
Lucia Aniello – Hacks, ‘Bulletproof’ (Max)
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Variety/Talk/News/Sports – Regularly Scheduled Programming
Liz Patrick – Saturday Night Live, “John Mulaney/Chappell Roan” (NBC)
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Reality Programs
Neil DeGroot – Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted, “The Cliffs of Ireland” (National Geographic Channel)
Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Commercials
Andreas Nilsson – Biscuit Filmworks
Lifetime Achievement & Service Award Recipients
Ang Lee – Lifetime Achievement Award
Mary Rae Thewlis – Robert B. Aldrich Service Award
Thomas J. Whelan – Frank Capra Achievement Award
