DirectorChloé Zhao’s new movieNomadlandcontinues its festival circuit hot streak, walking away from this year’s Toronto International Film Festival with the People’s Choice Award in hand. News ofNomadland’s latest wins comes just one week after we reported the Searchlight Pictures feature starringFrances McDormandscooped up this year’s Golden Lionat the Venice Film Festival.
In an incredible twist, this year marks the first time the Venice Golden Lion prizewinner matches the TIFF People’s Choice Award winner — and that winner isNomadland. The People’s Choice first runner-up isOne Night in Miami, the feature directorial debut from 2019 Oscar winnerRegina King. InNomadland, McDormand plays Fern, a middle-aged woman living a nomadic existence after losing everything in the Great Recession of 2008.Nomadlandis adapted fromJessica Bruder’s novel of the same name.
This TIFF win will see the rarefied air around Zhao’s third feature film — and her last relatively low-key release before MCU Phase 4 flickEternals— continue to intensify.Nomadland(as well asOne Night in Miami) has emerged as an awards season frontrunner. The People’s Choice Award has often been a bellwether for Best Picture nominees at the Oscars. To wit, past People’s Choice winners includeThe Imitation Game,La La Land, andThree Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri(the movie that earned McDormand an Oscar). While the People’s Choice buzz is beneficial toNomadland’s position in the conversation, nothing is certain about its place in the Oscars race.
Either way, havingNomadlandand Zhao leading this year’s Oscars conversation feels refreshing and exciting. Zhao’s chances of entering into the Best Director conversation will likely increase significantly with these TIFF and Venice awards. Additionally, McDormand will probably move into this year’s Best Actress conversation thanks to the praise around herNomadlandperformance. We still have a while to go before the Oscars air in April 2021, which means the nominations conversation isjuststarting up. It will be interesting to see howNomadlandfares between now and then.
Nomadlandis set for theatrical release on July 20, 2025. For more, find out what’s (theoretically)coming to theaters later in 2020.
Allie Gemmill is the Weekend Contributing Editor for Collider. You can follow them on Twitter@_matineeidle.
