As the Oscars approach, Selma director Ava DuVernay says she's still hurt that David Oyelowo, who portrays the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in the movie, wasn't nominated. During the film's Berlin premiere, DuVernay said she knows that Oyelowo's performance was one of the year's best.
"I was hurt by the fact that David wasn't nominated because I know what it took to get that performance," DuVernay said in an interview with the Associated Press. "I don't need anyone to tell me that it's one of the best performances of 2014; no one needs to even say that to me because I already know."
Selma received two Oscar nominations: one for best picture and another for original song for Common and John Legend's "Glory."
"It's a song that is going to be in the culture for quite a while," DuVernay said. "Already choirs and students and people are singing this song, and it's becoming a protest that I think will last."
Although many people thought DuVernay would receive a best director nomination, she said that she wasn't shocked when she didn't get it: "There has been no precedent for a black woman to be nominated for best director, so why was it going to change with me?"
DuVernay also said she is still honored to be nominated for best picture. "We were nominated as best picture, which is nothing to sneeze at," she said. "People act like we dragged out of there with nothing. I mean, best picture."
The Academy Awards will air Feb. 22 at 7 p.m. EST.