The Directors Guild of America has announced its shortlist for this year’s DGA Awards, bringing at least one of the Oscar races into sharper focus. The DGA is among the most reliable of Academy Awards predictors, which is bad news for two of the Golden Globe directing nominees, who miss out here.

The two front-runners are likely to be the Golden Globe winner Richard Linklater, whose Boyhood has been praised for its humanity and ambition, and Birdman‘s Alejandro González Iñárritu, who chose to shoot his film in what appears to be largely one take.

Wes Anderson, whose The Grand Budapest Hotel was also in the running for a Golden Globe last Sunday, remains in contention, but the DGA has overlooked Ava Duvernay, for Selma, and Gone Girl’s David Fincher.

Instead, the final two for the DIrectors Guild are The Imitation Game‘s Morten Tyldum and Clint Eastwood, whose patriotic portrayal of an American soldier’s experiences in Iraq and back home, American Sniper, clearly appeals to the American sensibility.

The award will be handed out at a ceremony in the Century City area of Los Angeles on 7th February.