Director Chloe Zhao with actress Frances McDormand on ‘Nomadland’ set
Chloe Zhao’s ‘Nomadland’ won the best picture at the 93rd Academy Awards on Sunday, where the China-born Zhao became the first woman of color to win the best director and a historically diverse group of winners took home awards.
In the biggest surprise of a socially distanced Oscar ceremony held during the pandemic, the best actor went to Anthony Hopkins for his performance in the dementia drama ‘The Father’.
However, the best actor award had been widely expected to go to Chadwick Boseman for his final performance in ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’.
But the ‘Nomadland’ victory, with a budget of less than $5 million and featuring a cast populated by non-professional actors, ranks as one of the most modest-sized movies to win Hollywood’s top honor.
