Frances McDormand in Nomadland
Chloé Zhao s Oscar-winning ode to independence and isolation became an anthem for the dysphoria of 2020.
On Sunday, Chloé Zhao s elegiac neo-Western
Nomadlandmade Oscar history, winning best picture, best director and best actress at the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony. It is the first directing victory for a non-white female filmmaker. Zhao is also the first woman to ever receive four nominations in a single year. Additionally, Frances McDormand won
her third and fourth Oscars this year, for both starring in and producing the film. The last time a female-forward production fully entered the awards fray was in 2018, when Greta Gerwig s
Nomadland, Minari, other Oscars 2021 Best Picture movies: Where, how to watch each film nominated at home now
Updated 6:12 PM;
Today 6:05 PM
From director Chloe Zhao, Frances McDormand stars in Best Picture nominee Nomadland which is streaming live right now on Hulu. (Searchlight Pictures via AP, FIle)AP
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In a year unlike any other for cinema, movie-lovers have been forced to stay at home with theaters across the country closed, or at limited capacity due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Due to the obstacles created by COVID-19, many of the film studios have released their top films directly to the consumer on a variety of streaming platforms leading up to this year’s Oscars.
This year, with shrinking audiences and pandemic restrictions, there was a bitter irony in the fact women won more Oscars, across new and highly visible categories, than ever before.
Oscars 2021: Chloé Zhao Becomes 2nd Woman to Win Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow won for “The Hurt Locker” in 2010
Beatrice Verhoeven | April 25, 2021 @ 6:03 PM
ABC
On Sunday, Chloé Zhao became the second woman in history to win Best Director at the Academy Awards for “Nomadland,” a victory that came more than a decade after Kathryn Bigelow broke the gender barrier with “The Hurt Locker” in 2010.
David Fincher (“Mank”), Thomas Vinterberg (“Another Round”), Lee Isaac Chung (“Minari”), Zhao (“Nomadland”) and Emerald Fennell (“Promising Young Woman”) were nominated in the category this year.
Zhao also became the first Asian woman and the first woman of color to win the award. Her win also means that Asian directors have won the Oscar the last four times they’ve been nominated (Ang Lee won in 2006 and 2013, while Bong Joon-ho won in 2020).
The 93rd Oscars took place on 26 April 2021.
Under Covid-19 regulation constraints, the event sacrificed music and comedy choosing instead to feature more oratory.
Here five experts weigh in on the Oscar wins, wearable art and focus on women.
Chloé Zhao has made history at the 93rd Academy Awards as the first Asian-American woman and first woman of colour to win Best Director. She won for Nomadland, which Zhao also edited, produced, and adapted as a screenplay (from the book by Jessica Bruder).
Only one other woman has ever won Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker in 2008. Zhao and fellow nominee Emerald Fennell (Promising Young Woman) were just the sixth and seventh women to receive nominations.