Oscar nominations 2021: Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell are nominated for the Best Director award
Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell made history on Monday morning.
The filmmakers were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director; this is the first time that two female directors have been put up for the same distinction.
This awards season has seen many women and people of color being nominated for various Oscars, and the ceremony is shaping up to be the most inclusive one ever as the Academy recently implemented new diversity rules.
Big achievement: Chloe Zhao and Emerald Fennell were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director, making it the fist time in history that two female filmmakers have been nominated at the same time; Zhao is seen in September of last year
Zhao was nominated for her work on Nomadland, which had its initial premiere last year.
The 38-year-old filmmaker’s feature is centered on a woman named Fern, who begins traveling the United States in a van after losing her job and husband.
The film was based on the book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, which was written by journalist Jessica Bruder.
In addition to helming the feature, Zhao wrote its screenplay and acted as one of its producers.
Great picture: The filmmaker was nominated for her work on the film Nomadland, which had its initial debut at the Venice Film Festival last year
Racking them up: Nomadland was put up for various other Oscars, including the awards for Best Picture and Best Actress for Frances McDormand; the film’s lead actress and director are pictured together in September of 2020
Nomadland had its initial premiere at the Venice Film Festival last September and went on to have a wide streaming release in February.
The picture has garnered high critical acclaim and took home multiple awards at the recently held Golden Globes ceremony, including the distinctions for Best Motion Picture – Drama and Best Director.
Zhao’s film was also nominated for numerous other Oscars, including the awards for Best Picture and Best Actress for the feature’s star, Frances McDormand.
Fennell was nominated for the award for Best Director for her work on the film Promising Young Woman, which debuted at last year’s Sundance Film Festival.
Solid director: Emerald Fennell was nominated for the Oscar for her work on Promising Young Woman, which made its debut at last year’s Sundance Film Festival; she is pictured in 2015
High praise: The media figure’s directorial debut received much positive critical attention for the performance of its cast and timely themes
The film follows the story of a woman named Cassie, who attempts to exact justice on a man who had sexually assaulted her friend in high school.
The 35-year-old filmmaker and author also wrote the script for the feature and acted as one of its producers; Margot Robbie served in the same capacity.
Promising Young Woman was also Fennell’s feature directing debut, as she had previously focused on acting and writing novels.
The feature was the focus of much positive critical attention upon its initial release, with many reviewers pointing out the lead actors’ performances and coverage of timely themes.
Working hard: In addition to directing Promising Young Woman, Fennell wrote Promising Young Woman’s screenplay and served as one of its producers; Carey Mulligan and Bo Burnham are seen performing in the movie
It has also been nominated for the awards for Best Picture and Best Actress, with the latter focusing on the film’s star, Carey Mulligan.
The Academy Awards have been in existence for 93 years.
Only five women have ever been nominated for Best Director. They include Lina Wertmüller (1976′s Seven Beauties), Jane Campion (1993′s The Piano), Sofia Coppola (2003′s Lost In Translation), Kathryn Bigelow (2009′s The Hurt Locker), and Greta Gerwig (2017′s Lady Bird).
It is a surprise that two women made the category this year. It is also the first time a woman of Asian decent (Zhao) has been nominated.
Although the ceremony is usually held at the Dolby Theater, located in Los Angeles, this year’s Oscars will be hosted at multiple venues in an effort to minimize person-to-person contact.
The Academy Awards are set to take place on April 25th after being pushed back from its original air date of February 28th.
Serious accolades: Fennell’s film was also nominated for the award for Best Picture, and its lead actress, Carey Mulligan, was also put up for the Best Actress award