Chloé Zhao

Chloé Zhao is a Chinese filmmaker, known primarily for her work in independent American films. Zhao made history in 2021 when she became the First Asian woman and only the second woman ever to earn the Academy Award for Best Director. Her film, "Nomadland," also received the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Her 2015 feature debut, "Songs My Brothers Taught Me," premiered in the US Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival and Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated for three 2016 Independent Spirit Awards. Her second feature, "The Rider," premiered in Directors' Fortnight at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, where it received the Art Cinema Award and was picked up by Sony Pictures Classics. In April 2018, it was announced that Amazon Studios greenlit Zhao's upcoming untitled Bass Reeves biopic, a historical Western about the first black U.S. Deputy Marshal.

Zhao garnered further success with "Nomadland," which received widespread acclaim and won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival. Zhao won Best Director Golden Globe for "Nomadland," making her the first woman of Asian descent to be honored. Zhao ventured into blockbuster filmmaking with the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film "Eternals."