Christopher Nolan, Celine Song, AP’s Mstyslav Chernov win at Directors Guild Awards

Christopher Nolan was awarded the top prize at the Directors Guild Awards for “Oppenheimer” Saturday, solidifying his front-runner status for next month’s Oscars.

Other winners at the untelevised ceremony in Los Angeles included Celine Song, for first time directorial achievement for her romantic drama “Past Lives,” and Mstyslav Chernov for the documentary “ 20 Days in Mariupol, ” a joint project between The Associated Press and PBS “Frontline.”

The Directors Guild of America also recognizes achievements in scripted and nonscripted television, with the drama series prize going to Peter Hoar for “The Last of Us” episode “Long, Long Time,” and the comedy trophy for Christopher Storer for the “Fishes” episode of “The Bear.”

The DGA award is a first for Nolan who had been nominated for the same award four times previously, for “Memento,” “The Dark Knight,” “Inception” and “Dunkirk.” This year, Nolan was up against some formidable competition in Martin Scorsese for “Killers of the Flower Moon,” Yorgos Lanthimos for “Poor Things,” Alexander Payne for “The Holdovers” and Greta Gerwig for “Barbie,” who some pundits thought might have been capable of an upset win in response to her snub in the same category at the Oscars.