Oscars: Chloe Zhao becomes second woman to win best director
What's the story
Filmmaker Chloe Zhao has scripted history at the 93rd Academy Awards. The Nomadland filmmaker is the first woman of color and only the second woman in the Academy Award's history to win the Oscar for best direction. Kathryn Bigelow was the first woman to win the best director in 2009 for her film The Hurt Locker. Here's more.
Details
'Nomadland' is Zhao's third film as director
"This is for anyone who has the faith and the courage to hold on to the goodness in themselves, and to hold on to the goodness in each other," the director said after her win. It is only the third film for Zhao, 39. She will also be writing and directing a new take on the monster character Dracula, a sci-fi western.
Journey
The filmmaker started her journey as a director in 2015
She was a clear favorite in the category, which had nominees such as Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman, Lee Isaac Chung for Minari, Thomas Vinterberg for Another Round, and David Fincher for Mank. The filmmaker started her journey as a director with the 2015 movie Songs My Brothers Taught Me. Additionally, it was her second movie, The Rider, that brought her global attention.
Inspiration
Zhao describes Wong Kar-Wai and Terrence Malick as her inspiration
Based on Jessica Bruder's book of the same name, Nomadland stars Frances McDormand as Fern, a woman who after the economic collapse of her company in rural Nevada, packs her van and sets off on the road to explore life outside conventional society as a modern-day nomad. Zhao has mentioned that she has been inspired by cinema legends like Wong Kar-Wai and Terrence Malick
Other details
Zhao is awaiting the release of MCU film 'Eternals'
The 39-year-old director, who moved to the US when she was a teenager, said she has been thinking a lot lately about how to keep going when things got hard, Zhao said in her acceptance speech on Sunday night. Zhao is currently awaiting the release of her next Marvel Studios tentpole Eternals, as reported by Financial Express.