Fil-Am producer, director Stacey Angeles nominated for Directors Guild of America award

By Normita Fenn

The Directors Guild of America recently announced the nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in television, commercials and documentary for 2020.

One of the nominees for outstanding achievement in variety/talk/news/sports — specials is Filipina American Stacey Angeles for her work as the director of “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents: Remembering RBG: A Nation Ugly Cries with Desi Lydic,” which aired on Comedy Central on October 30, 2020.

This show highlights the life of Associate Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, popularly called RBG, who passed away in September 2020. RBG’s legacy touched human issues ensuing from her time as a law student in Harvard Law School when women lawyers were invisible, their performance less relevant. With tenacity, a steady hand, and a calculated approach, RBG accentuated her own personal issues on reproductive rights, gender equality, women’s rights, diversity, voting rights, equal pay for women, and footprints on legal advocacy.

There are many more headlined works and during the presidency of Bill Clinton, he appointed her as Associate Supreme Court Justice in 1993, joining Associate Justice Sandra Day O’Connor as the second woman to sit on the U.S. Supreme Court.

Under Angeles’ directorship, lead actress Desi Lydic, who upon hearing of RBG’s passing, conveyed diverse emotions of loss — repressed anger, lividness, uncertainty, even resorting to a cotton candy fight — that were profoundly evident among many women, not only in her generation, but from past, present, while tackling futuristic sway.

The essence of Angeles’ work, clip by clip — presented in a fun, comedic style — depicts issues pioneered by RBG, that are timeless, alive, and imbedded in people’s daily lives, with flavors of political and personal, both satirical and reality mix.

“With this special, I hope that during a time when the world was/is having a rough go of things, it offers some comfort and inspiration. While RBG’s death was an added layer of sadness that people were already experiencing, our goal was that we can honor her and heal together, we can face this uncertain future, and maybe be the change ourselves.  And if you get a laugh while watching, even better. Dark times need jokes to help us get through them,” Angeles said.

Angeles admitted the humanness of RBG as she made mistakes, but noted that “she was also someone who fought for what she believed in and kept on fighting for human rights till her last breath.”

On being nominated, Angeles rivals the work of household names like Spike Lee and Tommy Schlamme, and notable shows like “Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert,” and a variety of HBO, Netflix and Disney productions.

“For me, the craziest part about this whole nom is that I’m up against legends Spike Lee and Tommy Schlamme (whose work I grew up watching). I even wrote a paper on Spike Lee in college on his work and impact in the film industry so to be in a category against him…it still just blows my mind,” Angeles said.

Angeles, daughter of esteemed kababayans Dr. Fernando and Nancy Angeles, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications and political science from Fordham University in New York.

In addition to “The Daily Show,” Angeles has credits on “3AM,” “Warped Roadies,” and “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

Winners will be announced at the DGA Awards ceremony on Saturday, April 10, 2021.