Oscars: Chloe Zhao’s ‘Nomadland’ wins best picture

“Nomadland,” a story about a community of van dwellers in the American West, won the Oscar for best picture Sunday. 

The film was directed by Chloe Zhao, who also took home the Oscar in the sought-after best director category, making her the first Asian woman and first woman of color to win best director, and only the second woman in the event’s 93-year history. 

It was already considered sensational that two women, Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell, were in the running in the same year — a first for the Oscars. Until now, Kathryn Bigelow was the only woman to have won in the category for her 2010 film, The Hurt Locker.

Unlike many other awards ceremonies during the pandemic, including last year’s Oscars, the 93rd Academy Awards ceremony was an in-person, albeit slimmed down event, featuring only nominees, presenters and their guests. This year, the Oscars were held in Union Station and Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.

Inside Union Station in front of a small crowd, actress and director Regina King opened the show with a monologue, telling the nominees in front of her to ”think of this as a movie set.”

”People have been vaxxed, tested, re-tested and socially distanced,” she said. All nominees and guests had to have a minimum of two COVID-19 PCR tests, as well as tests in the weeks leading up to the ceremony.

Chloe Zhao won best director for her film “Nomadland.”

Who were other winners?

The big difference in the historically white male-dominated event were the multiple wins for women and people of color.

The poignant film about a middle-aged woman named Fern, played by Frances McDormand, who decides to live out of her van and travel the US, garnered six nominations, including best picture, best director, and best actress for McDormand. During the acceptance speech, McDormand urged viewers to return to movie theaters as soon as possible and gave a wolf howl, as she does in the film, before leaving the stage. 

The Chinese-born Zhao not only directed Nomadland, but also wrote the screenplay and edited the film.

Actor Daniel Kaluuya won best supporting actor for playing Black Panther Party leader Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah. Hampton was assassinated by the FBI in 1969 when an informant infiltrated the Party. Fred Hampton Jr. worked as a consultant on the film, which had an all-Black producing team.

British actor Daniel Kaluuya won best supporting actor.

This year’s winner for best international film was Danish film Another Round, directed by Thomas Vinterberg. Vinterberg’s daughter, Ida, died in a car accident four days into shooting the film. “Ida, this is a miracle that just happened…this one’s for you” he said when accepting the award.

History was also made when veteran Korean actress Yuh-Jung Youn took home the best supporting actress award, becoming the first Korean person to win an acting Oscar and the second Asian actor to win an acting Oscar. She played mother-in-law Soon-ja who joins her son’s family in Arkansas, USA to start a new life in Minari.

Best original screenplay went to Emerald Fennell’s revenge film, Promising Young Woman. It was the actress and writer’s first feature film — she worked as head writer in the popular TV series Killing Eve.

Emerald Fennell accepts the award for best original screenplay

Best adapted screenplay prize went to Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller of The Father.

Pixar film Soul, a film about death and jazz, which was the first Pixar film to feature an African-American protagonist, won best animated film, as well as best score. One of its composers, Jon Batiste, became the second Black composer to win the award.

The best documentary feature went to a film available on Netflix, My Octopus Teacher.

Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/oscars-chloe-zhao-s-nomadland-wins-best-picture/a-57332466?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf