03/03/2021
Chole Zhao 赵婷, a Beijing born American, becomes the 1st Asian woman to win Best Director and the 2nd female director in the history of Golden Globe.
Her winning role at the film Nomadland sets the scene in American West. “What she was trying to articulate was a reflection of her own slippery sense of self, made more elusive by her years spent moving around the globe.”
“Zhao wasn’t the first artist to come from outside an Indigenous community with the intention of telling a story set within it. But she was coming from far outside it, so far that she felt unconstrained by both American colonialist history and the legacy of guilt that comes with it. Zhao tried to make herself porous, immersing herself in life there and attempting to get past the familiar narratives offered up to expectant visitors. She filled her films with locals, guiding them through fictionalized performances that were informed by their own experiences.”
The creator of quiet indie dramas is now the most-sought-after director in Hollywood.
