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| 'Nomadland' director Chloe Zhao may be up for an Oscar ... or two, or three. |
We may see unprecedented Asian representation in the race for the Oscars this year. Chloe Zhao is receiving almost universal praise for her directing of Nomadland. In fact, she may be the leading contender in that category.
If nominated, Zhao would be joining Lee Isaac Chung, director of the Asian American movie, Minari, who is also being touted as a candidate in the same category.
Unlike Asian American directors of her generation, Zhao didn't start her movie-making career within the genre of "ethnic" films dealing identity or fitting into white culture. The Beijing-raised director made a name for herself with her films about the modern American West, Songs My Brothers Taught Me and The Rider, all starring non-Asians.
In Nomadland, Zhao is still exploring the American West, but instead of rodeo riders, she has her focus on the subculture of homeless senior citizens, who wander in their trailers and campers from job to job, a byproduct of the country's increasing corporate and global culture.
She may also be in nominated in the Best Adapted Screenplay category for her work on Nomadland, adapted from the nonfiction book of the same name by Jessica Bruder.
Zhao's latest work is a hit with audiences (currently at 97% on Rotten Tomatoes) and film critics, winning high praise in the film festival circuit, including the People’s Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In recent years, both of these festivals have been strong indicators for a Best Picture nomination.
Zhao also edited and produced the picture, which will be released on December 4, qualifying her for the Oscars.
There's a sadness in her films, devoid of special effects and action sequences, as she concentrates on the characters making their way through a changing world, as they find a way to survive or get left behind by the inevitable shift, but in the background, the landscape, bare, rough and beautiful, remains.
Because of the outstanding work by the directors, both Nomadland and Minari, are also potential nominees for the Academy Award for Best Picture.
If both Zhao and Chung get that nomination -- and likewise if both Nomadland and Minari get nominated in the Best Picture category -- that will mark a real change in Hollywood culture as the older establishment yields its influence to the incoming generation of diverse filmmakers.
It may be hoping for too much for both films and both directors to get nominate; but if they did, that would be going against precedence. They both must pass muster from the members of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Arts, which hand out the awards. Despite recent efforts to add diversity to its membership, it is still overwhelming older, white and male.
Can the Oscars have another Asian motion picture be awarded Best Picture. After last year's Parasite from Korea, can artistic merit overcome the institutional bias? This year, one Asian nominee might be a possibility, but to have both films nominated might be too much for the out-of-touch membership -- even though they deserve it.
The Oscar nominations will be announce March 15, 2021 and the awards ceremony will air April 25, 2021 on ABC. Details of the format for the awards show is yet to be determined because of the coronavirus limitations.
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