Nomadland Wins Best Picture — Chloé Zhao Shouts Out 'The Power Of Resilience And Hope'

Last year at the Academy Awards, few could've predicted that Bong Joon-ho's Parasite would take the night's top honor of Best Picture. It's the sort of unexpected twist that makes the 2021 Oscars anyone's game — especially any time once you add in its rescheduled date because of the pandemic, increased social distancing on the red carpet and throughout the show, and everything else that's changed since the last time the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles hosted this ceremony.


That mentioned, tonight's show was uniquely its own. And because the third to last award of the night — purposely switched up from its common spot at the very end, as co-orchestrated by executive producer Steven Soderbergh for a "surprising" effect — Best Picture was awarded to Nomadland, writer-director Chloé Zhao's contemplative portrait of the nomadic Fern, played by Frances McDormand, navigating the long-tail fallout of the 2008 financial crisis in America.


Accepting the award onstage flanked by the film's cast and crew, including McDormand and then some of the real-life nomads who portrayed versions of themselves in the film, Zhao was gracious. She opened by thanking just about everyone.


"We thank the academy and we thank our perfect fellow nominees and we thank all of the hearts and hands that come with each other to create this movie," Zhao said.


The writer-director then turned her praise to the nomads whose stories made the film alongside that of McDormand's fictional character Fern. "We desire to show our deepest gratitude to Linda May, Swankie, Bob Wells, and [the] nomadic community, all of the people we met on the road. Thank you for teaching us the power of resilience and hope and for reminding us what true kindness looks like." She likewise shouted out her star, "the one and only Frances McDormand."


Earlier in the night, Zhao also won Best Director, making her the opening woman of color and the second woman ever to nab the award. As she wrapped up onstage, she passed the spotlight to her protagonist: "And right now I give you Fern."


Clarifying that "no I'm not, I'm Fran," McDormand decided on a plea: "Please watch our movie on the biggest screen possible, and one day very, very soon, take each person you know into a theater, shoulder to shoulder in that dark space and watch every film that's represented here tonight."


McDormand closed by letting out a good cry. "We give this one to our wolf," she mentioned. Then she howled a genuine ah-woo.


Nomadland beat out fellow nominees The Father, Judas and the Black Messiah, Mank, Minari, Promising Young Woman, Sound of Metal, The Trial of the Chicago 7.


Find all of the 2021 Oscar winners right here.