The 74th Annual Directors Guild of America (DGA) Awards are set to take place on March 12, the guild announced Tuesday.
The DGA National Board also reinstated its requirement of an exclusive theatrical run, which was temporarily suspended due to pandemic-related theater closures, for the DGA Theatrical Feature Film Award.
The rule, which was first introduced in 2019, requires that films released after June 15, 2021 have an exclusive theatrical run of at least seven days prior to any other exhibition. Movies released via other distribution platforms, such as streaming services, on the same “day and date” they hit theaters, are not eligible for the Guild’s top award. For theatrical feature films released between March 1 and June 14, 2021, the pandemic exception will still apply.
The DGA also announced that the eligibility period for the top award runs from March 1 to Dec. 31, 2021.
“After over a year of darkness, theater marquees lighting up across our nation have been a welcome sight for our healing communities,” said DGA president Thomas Schlamme. “We celebrate the return of the important role that theatrical cinema plays in bringing together audiences as they collectively experience films as the filmmakers intended them to be viewed.”
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At the 2020 DGA Awards, Chloé Zhao took home the Theatrical Feature Film Award for “Nomadland,” which also earned her this year’s Academy Award for best director.
Darius Marder won the First-Time Feature Film Award for “Sound of Metal,” Scott Frank was honored in the Movies for Television and Limited Series category for “The Queen’s Gambit” and Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw took home the Documentary Award for “The Truffle Hunters.”
The 94th annual Academy Awards are set for March 27, two weeks after the DGA Awards.