Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win the best director award from the Directors Guild of America (DGA) on Saturday with her Iraq war thriller "The Hurt Locker," a film gathering awards momentum ahead of the Oscars.
It followed last weekend's surprise win for "The Hurt Locker" at the Producers Guild of America Awards.
The winner of the Guild's top award has gone on to take the best director Oscar all but six times in the last 61 years.
I think we all felt a really deep responsibility to tell this story with as much honesty as possible, given the courage of the men and women in the field
Oscar nominations will be announced next Tuesday and modestly budgeted "The Hurt Locker" is expected to garner several nods, including best film and best director.
The 58-year-old Bigelow beat out her former husband James Cameron, who had won the Golden Globe for best director this month for his mega-budget blockbuster "Avatar."
"I am so deeply stunned and honored and proud," Bigelow told the celebrity-heavy crowd of Hollywood directors and actors.
"I think we all felt a really deep responsibility to tell this story with as much honesty as possible, given the courage of the men and women in the field," she added
"The Hurt Locker" tells the story of a U.S. military bomb squad that defuses explosives amid the fighting and insurgents. Many critics consider the film to be the best portrayal of the Iraq war since it began in 2003.
Other nominees for the DGA Awards honored on Saturday included Lee Daniels, director of "Precious," Jason Reitman for "Up in the Air" and Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds."
This year's Academy Awards will be handed out in Hollywood on March 7.
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