Last year, when Sean Baker’s “Anora” won both the Palme d’Or at Cannes — followed by best picture at the Oscars — those honors reinforced what Variety had been saying a decade earlier, when the filmmaker appeared on the publication’s 10 Directors to Watch list, before “Tangerine” had even premiered at Sundance. The same goes for Chloé Zhao, winner of the audience prize at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival for “Hamnet,” who was selected for her earlier film “The Rider.”

Those names join the likes of Christopher Nolan, Coralie Fargeat, Jonathan Glazer, Ruben Östlund, Wes Anderson, Alfonso Cuarón, Steve McQueen and Benh Zeitlin, who were all named “directors to watch” by Variety far in advance of being nominated for best director at the Academy Awards. Not that the distin

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