Chloe Zhao Becomes First Chinese Female Director Nominated in the Golden Globes

The 38-year-old director has received high praise from critics at the Toronto Film Festival and Venice Film Festival, according to Deadline.

“Nomadland” won the People’s Choice Award and the Golden Lion at the two festivals, respectively.

 

Zhao also received awards from the National Society of Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the New York Film Critics Circle for best director for “Nomadland.”

She is joined by “Promising Young Woman” director Emerald Fennell and “One Night in Miami” director Regina King at the Golden Globes directing category.

Aside from ignoring female filmmakers in the past, the Golden Globes also has a shaky record for acknowledging Asian filmmakers, Los Angeles Times reported. A couple of examples given was for Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” and Lee Isaac Chung’s “Minari,” which were forced by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association to compete in different categories.

Other Asian directors nominated for the Golden Globes in the past include Ang Lee, Hiroshi Teshigahara, Akira Kurosawa and South Korean director Bong Joon-ho. Bong made history in 2019 for winning not only as a director but also taking the Best Picture award for “Parasite” at the Oscars. It also won Best Foreign Language film at last year’s Golden Globes.

“Nomadland” tells the story of Fern, played by Frances McDormand, who hits the road to look for work following the death of her husband and the collapse of her small factory town.

Featured Image via Getty (left), SearchlightPictures (right)