‘NOMADLAND’ WINS BEST PICTURE AT THE 93RD ACADEMY AWARDS

Mon 26 April 2021:

The 93rd annual Academy Awards made history before the first award was even handed out.

Chloe Zhao’s neo-western drama Nomadland won for Best Picture on Sunday night at the Academy Awards.

The 93rd Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, were held at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles.

The ceremony also was treated like a movie set. Nominees were permitted to remain maskless while on camera, but had to place their masks back on when the cameras stopped rolling.

After years of criticism for a lack of diversity, this year’s slate of nominees contained some notable firsts. It was the first time an all-Black producing team was nominated for best picture, the first time two actors of Asian descent received a nod for best actor and the first year that two women were nominated for best director.

When the winners were revealed, it reflected this spirit of inclusion.

Directed by Asian-American Chloe Zhao, the film is about a woman in her 60s losing her job and all her property in Nevada amid the 2008 financial crisis. She sets out alone across the American West in her van and joins a caravan of nomads and travels through the western states of the US.

Nomadland was one of eight films selected for best picture. The other contenders included The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Minari, Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal and the Trial of the Chicago 7.

Mank, the dramatic re-telling of how screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz developed the screenplay for Citizen Kane, led all films with 10 nominations.

Zhao became the second woman to receive the best director award in the 93-year history of the Oscars.

Netflix won the night, taking home seven trophies — two for “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” two for “Mank” and then individual awards for best live-action short, best animated short and best documentary feature.

Disney had the second-largest haul with five, including three wins for “Nomadland” and two for “Soul.”

Best actor

And the winner is…Anthony Hopkins, “The Father”

Also nominated:
Riz Ahmed, “Sound of Metal”
Chadwick Boseman, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Gary Oldman, “Mank”
Steven Yeun, “Minari”

Best actress

And the winner is…Frances McDormand, “Nomadland”

Also nominated:
Viola Davis, “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
Andra Day, “The United States vs. Billie Holiday”
Vanessa Kirby, “Pieces of a Woman”
Carey Mulligan, “Promising Young Woman”

Best picture

And the winner is…“Nomadland”

Also nominated:
“The Father”
“Judas and the Black Messiah”
“Mank”
“Minari”
“Promising Young Woman”
“Sound of Metal”
“The Trial of the Chicago 7”

Best original song

And the winner is…“Fight for You,” “Judas and the Black Messiah”

Also nominated:
“Husavik (My Hometown),” “Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga”
“Io Si (Seen),” “The Life Ahead”
“Speak Now,” “One Night in Miami”
“Hear My Voice,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7″

Best film editing

And the winner is…“Sound of Metal”

Also nominated:
“The Father”
“Nomadland”
“Promising Young Woman”
“Sound of Metal”
“The Trial of the Chicago 7″

Best cinematography

And the winner is…“Mank”

Also nominated:
“Judas and the Black Messiah”
“News of the World”
“Nomadland”
“The Trial of the Chicago 7″

Best production design

And the winner is…“Mank”

Also nominated:
“The Father”
“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom”
“News of the World”
“Tenet”

Best documentary feature

And the winner is…“My Octopus Teacher”

Also nominated:
“Collective”
“Crip Camp”
“The Mole Agent”
“Time”

Best documentary short subject

And the winner is…“Colette”

Also nominated:
“A Concerto is a Conversation”
“Do Not Split”
“Hunger Ward”
“A Love Song For Latasha”

Best animated feature

And the winner is…“Soul”

Also nominated:
“Onward”
“Over the Moon”
“A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon”
“Wolfwalkers”

Best director

And the winner is… Chloe Zhao, “Nomadland”

Also nominated:
Lee Isaac Chung, “Minari”
Emerald Fennell, “Promising Young Woman”
David Fincher, “Mank”
Thomas Vinterberg, “Another Round”

Best supporting actor

And the winner is… Daniel Kaluuya, “Judas and the Black Messiah”

Also nominated:
Sacha Baron Cohen, “The Trial of the Chicago 7”
Leslie Odom Jr., “One Night in Miami”
Paul Raci, “Sound of Metal”
LaKeith Stanfield, “Judas and the Black Messiah”

Photo: Yuh-Jung Youn for Minari (left), Chloé Zhao for Nomadland (centre), and Daniel Kaluuya for Judas and the Black Messiah (right). Image credit: Sean Gleason/Sony Pictures Classics via AP