Chloe Zhao Is The First Asian Woman To Win Best Director At The Golden Globes

BY: Michelle Liew

The 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards went underway with its virtual ceremony for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic and Asians all around the world rejoiced for the crowning of Chloe Zhao as the best director in a motion picture for her feature film “Nomadland” on Sunday night.

Zhao is the stepdaughter of the famous Chinese actress Song Dandan. Growing up, she was greatly influenced by the Western pop culture and received her education in England and the United States.

The Beijing-born Zhao made history at the Golden Globes by becoming the first ever Asian to win the prize for best director. She is also the second woman to grab a trophy for the category in the award’s 78-year history, the first being Barbra Streisand in 1984 for her film “Yentl”. Not to mention, this is also the first time more than one woman has ever been shortlisted for the title of best director. Regina King and Emerald Fennell were also nominated.

Earlier that night, Zhao was also nominated for the Best Screenplay Award (Aaron Sorkin won the award for “The Trial of the Chicago 7”). “Nomadland” was also nominated for the best feature film and won the final award. The film starring Frances McDormand was nominated for Best Actress in a Feature Film.

The acclaimed “Nomadland” tells the story of Fern, played by McDormand, traveling the country in a van, doing odd jobs and socializing with other American homeless people s story. The film is adapted from Jessica Bruder’s non-fiction work of the same name. Zhao mainly uses amateur themes in the film, including characters from Bruder’s book.

In the “New York Times” series of reports “Anatomy of a Scene”, Zhao’s discussion captured the essence of the story. She tells the scene of Fern wandering around in Badlands National Park. “She is exploring,” Zhao Ting said, “but at the same time she also feels lost.”

Although Zhao is known for her film and independent films such as The Rider in 2018, her next film is of a completely different scale: Marvel’s superhero movie “Eternals.”

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