With just a week to go until the 85th Academy Awards, the excitement is mounting as some of Hollywood's most talented directors brace themselves to see if they will take an Oscar statue home this year.

Watch the live broadcast on Monday, 25 February at 03:00 on M-Net Movies Premiere to find out. Catch the repeat at 20:30 on M-Net.

Here are the nominations for Best Director:

Steven Spielberg - Lincoln
Without a question Steven Spielberg is one of the most prominent directors in the film industry. He is the mastermind behind epics such as Jaws, ET, Jurassic Park, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. However his creative genius extends far beyond just directing, he’s a prolific producer and is experienced in a vast array of genres.

Spielberg’s movies have grossed billions at the box office and his recent endeavor, Lincoln, which earned 12 Academy Award nominations, sees Spielberg up for another Best Director Nomination this year. He’s already won two Academy Awards in this category for Schindler’s List in 1993 and Saving Private Ryan in 1998. Will Lincoln earn him a third?


Ang Lee – Life of Pi
Ang Lee is the first person of Asian descent to have won an Oscar for Best Director. This came in 2005 with Brokeback Mountain. Some of Lee’s most notable movies include Sense and Sensibility, Hulk and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

The highly acclaimed Life of Pi received 11 nominations at this year’s Academy Awards. His direction of Life of Pi encompassed the use of 3D effects, which made it a phenomenal success. Will that be enough for him to win his second Best Director Oscar?



Michael Haneke – Amour
Michael Haneke is an Austrian filmmaker who is renowned for his unusual approach to filmmaking. With only 11 feature films to his credit, two of his projects - White Ribbon and Amour - have earned the highest award at the Cannes Film Festival known as the Palme d'Or. Amour has got five nominations at this year’s Oscars.


Benh Zeitlin - Beasts of the Southern Wild
As a newcomer to the film industry, Benh Zeitlin is gaining wide acclaim for his directorial debut, Beasts of the Southern Wild. He’s won several awards at the Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and after having won the Breakthrough Director award at the Gotham Independent Film Festival this year, Zeitlin seems like a promising choice for this year’s Academy Award for Best Director. Beasts of the Southern Wild has also been nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.



David O Russell – Silver Linings Playbook
He garnered attention with his first two films, Spanking the Monkey and Flirting with Disaster. This led to Three Kings which starred George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube. Last year he picked up his first Best Director nomination for The Fighter, while his latest venture, Silver Linings Playbook, was a hit at the box office and has bagged numerous awards – AFI Best Film of the Year, the Bafta for Best Adapted Screenplay and many more.


With only six days until the prestigious awards, the excitement is mounting as we wait to see which of these highly talented directors will take away the Best Director award at this year’s 85th Academy Awards.

Catch all the glitz and glamour on Monday, 25 February at 03:00 on M-Net Movies Premiere. Don’t miss the repeat on the same day at 20:30 on M-Net.