Nomadland becomes the Oscars' 1st Best Picture winner directed by a woman of color

Nomadland
(Image credit: Searchlight Pictures)

Nomadland just swept its way through awards season to a historic win at the Oscars.

The film from Chloé Zhao on Sunday won the Oscar for Best Picture, becoming the first movie directed by a woman of color ever to do so.

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Nomadland was considered the Best Picture frontrunner going into Sunday's Oscars after previous wins at the Golden Globes, the British Academy Film Awards, the Directors Guild of America Awards, the Critics' Choice Awards, and the Producers Guild of America Awards. Given that numerous recent Oscars ceremonies including last year's ended in shocking upsets, though, pundits were bracing for the possibility of another big surprise win, possibly by Netflix's The Trial of the Chicago 7. But as it turned out, Nomadland remained unstoppable to the very end.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.