Chloé Zhaotook home the coveted Oscar for Best Director — and made history in the process!
“I’ve been thinking a lot lately of how I keep going when things get hard, and I think it goes back to something I learned as a kid,” said Zhao, 39, in her speech. “When I was growing up in China, my dad and I used to play this game. We would memorize classic Chinese poems and texts, and we would recite it together and try to finish each other’s sentences.”
“There’s one that I remember so dearly; it’s called ‘The Three Character Classics,’ " she continues, before stating the first phrase, then translating it to: “People at birth are inherently good.”
“Those six letters had such impact on me as a kid,” recalled Zhao. “And I still truly believe them today, even though sometimes it might seem like the opposite is true. But I have always found goodness in the people I met everywhere I went in the world. So this is for anyone who has the faith and the courage to hold onto the goodness in themselves and to hold onto the goodness in each other, no matter how difficult it is to do this.”
“This is for you,” she concluded. “You inspire me to keep going.”
Chloé Zhao and Frances McDormand inNomadland.20th Century Fox
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This is Zhao’s first Academy Award nomination and first win. Last year’s winner,Bong Joon Ho(Parasite), presented the category. Thomas Vinterberg (Another Round),Emerald Fennell(Promising Young Woman),David Fincher(Mank) andLee Isaac Chung(Minari) were also nominated in the category.
The director, who previously made several independent films such asThe Rider, has received critical acclaim for her work inNomadland, which follows the story of Fern (Frances McDormand), who becomes a drifter after losing her home in the 2008 recession.
While Zhao’sNomadlandwas a lot closer to home, the director’s next project is a lot bigger in scale. Zhao is currently hard at work filming the upcoming Marvel filmThe EternalsstarringAngelina Jolie, Salma Hayek and Kumail Nanjiani. She will also be helming the sci-fi Western take onDraculafor Universal Pictures.
The 93rd Academy Awards are airing live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
source: people.com
