Another day, another accolade for Chloé Zhao. The “Nomadland” writer, director, and producer has already made history as the most awarded filmmaker in a single awards season and she’s showing no signs of slowing down. “Nomadland” was named Best Picture at last night’s Critics Choice Awards, and Zhao took home the honors for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.
Based on Jessica Bruder’s 2017 book “Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century,” Zhao’s third feature is set in the aftermath of the Great Recession and tells the story of Fern (Frances McDormand), a woman who moves into her camper van and travels across the American West.
Last month Zhao became the first woman to claim the Best Director prize at the Golden Globes since Barbra Streisand took home the honor in 1984 for “Yentl,” and the first woman of color to ever win the award.
Like the Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards ceremony combined in-person and virtual elements. Another big winner was “Promising Young Woman,” former “Killing Eve” showrunner Emerald Fennell’s directorial debut. The “Crown” actor won Best Original Screenplay for her revenge tale about a former medical student who dedicates her life to tracking down sexual predators and teaching them a lesson, and its star, Carey Mulligan, landed the honor for Best Actress.
Head over to Variety to check out all of the 2021 Critics Choice Awards winners.
