Director Kathryn Bigelow poses with her Feature Film Award for “The Hurt Locker” during the 62nd Annual Directors Guild Of America Awards

From the Hollywood Reporter: In an historic win, Kathryn Bigelow and her tense Iraq War drama “The Hurt Locker” from Summit Entertainment copped the DGA Award for best-directed feature film Saturday.

The win drew cheers from a packed ballroom of the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza, where throughout the night it was clear many were pulling for Bigelow to deliver a dramatic victory for female filmmakers. The DGA feature film win was a first-ever by a woman.

“This is the most incredible moment of my life,” Bigelow said.

Bigelow overcame competition including Fox-distributed “Avatar,” directed by her ex-husband James Cameron; Lee Daniels and “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” from Lionsgate; Jason Reitman and “Up in the Air” from Paramount; and Quentin Tarantino and “Inglourious Basterds” from the Weinstein Co.

The DGA’s feature-film award is one of the best gauges of likely success in Oscar’s best-director category. The Academy Award for directing has gone to someone other than the DGA winner only six times since the guild launched its awards in 1948, most recently in 2002 when Roman Polanski copped the Oscar for “The Pianist” and the DGA crowned Rob Marshall for “Chicago.”

The DGA win for “The Hurt Locker” follows its selection by the PGA Awards — another reliable barometer of Oscar success — as the producers’ best feature film. Academy Award nominations will be announced Tuesday.

“This is amazing,” a clearly moved Bigelow said in accepting the DGA laurels. “I am so deeply stunned and honored and proud.

She accepted the “unimaginable honor” on behalf of the “men and women in the field” in the Iraq military zone.

I’m embarassed to say I still haven’t seen “The Hurt Locker” yet but I definitely will. (The only Kathryn Bigelow film I’ve seen is “Near Dark“).

Check out the trailer for “The Hurt Locker” below: