Chloé Zhao is a Chinese filmmaker known for her films Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015), The Rider (2018), Nomadland (2020), Eternals (2021), and Hamnet (2025).
Zhao set many records with her 2020 film Nomadland, including becoming the first woman of color to win the Academy Award for Best Director, as well as the second woman to ever win Best Director awards from the Directors Guild of America Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and British Academy Film Awards.
With her 2025 film Hamnet, Zhao became the only director to have won the Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award twice, and only the second woman and the first woman of color to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director twice. She was also nominated alongside Maggie O'Farrell for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Major awards Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2021 Best PictureNomadland Best Director Best Adapted Screenplay Best Film Editing 2026 Best Director Hamnet Best Adapted Screenplay
BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result British Academy Film Awards 2021 Best FilmNomadland Best Director Best Adapted Screenplay Best Editing 2026 Best Director Hamnet Best Adapted Screenplay Outstanding British Film
Critics' Choice Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Critics' Choice Movie Awards2021 Best PictureNomadland Best Director Best Adapted Screenplay Best Film Editing 2026Best DirectorHamnet Best Adapted Screenplay
Directors Guild of America Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2021 Outstanding Directing – Feature FilmNomadland 2026Hamnet
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2021Best DirectorNomadland Best Screenplay 2026Best Director Hamnet Best Screenplay
Producers Guild of America Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2021Best Theatrical Motion PictureNomadland
Writers Guild of America Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2026Best Adapted ScreenplayHamnet
Other awards ACE Eddie Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2021 Best Edited Feature Film – DramaticNomadland 2026Hamnet
British Independent Film Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2018 Best Foreign Independent Film The Rider 2021 Nomadland
Gotham Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2014 Spotlight on Women Filmmakers "Live the Dream" Grant Songs My Brothers Taught Me 2018 Audience Award The Rider Best Feature 2020 Nomadland Audience Award
Independent Spirit Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2016Best First FeatureSongs My Brother Taught Me Someone to Watch Award 2018 The BONNIE Award Best FeatureThe Rider Best Director 2021 Best FeatureNomadland Best Director Best Editing
Irish Film & Television Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2026 Best Script Hamnet
NAACP Image Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2026 Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture Hamnet
Satellite Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2021Best DirectorNomadland Best Adapted Screenplay Best Film Editing 2026Best DirectorHamnet Best Adapted Screenplay Best Film Editing
USC Scripter Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2021 Film Nomadland 2026 Hamnet
Film festival awards Organizations Year Category Project Result BFI London Film Festival2025Audience Award for Best FeatureHamnet Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema 2018 Best Feature Film - Avant-Garde and Genre The Rider Cannes Film Festival 2015Caméra d'OrSongs My Brothers Taught Me 2017 Art Cinema Award The Rider Capri Hollywood International Film Festival 2020Best Director Nomadland Chicago International Film Festival 2020 Audience Choice Award Coronado Island Film Festival 2020Leonard Maltin Tribute Award Denver Film Festival 2015 Best Feature Film Songs My Brothers Taught Me 2020 Rare Pearl Award Nomadland Fargo Film Festival2016Prairie Spirit AwardSongs My Brothers Taught Me Middleburg Film Festival 2025 Visionary Director Award Hamnet Mill Valley Film Festival 2025 Overall Audience Award Palm Springs International Film Festival 2018 Directors to Watch The Rider 2020 Director of the Year Nomadland 2026Vanguard AwardHamnet (shared with actors Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal) Toronto International Film Festival 2020 People's Choice AwardNomadland Etan Vlessing, "Toronto: Chloe Zhao's 'Nomadland' Wins Audience Award". The Hollywood Reporter, September 20, 2020. 2025Hamnet Pete Hammond, "‘Hamnet’ Wins Oscar-Predictive Toronto Film Festival People’s Choice Award". Deadline Hollywood, September 14, 2025. Tokyo International Film Festival 2025 Kurosawa Akira Award For extraordinary contributions to world cinema Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2021 Outstanding Director of the Year Nomadland Sundance Film Festival 2015 Grand Jury Prize - Dramatic Songs My Brothers Taught Me Venice Film Festival 2020Golden LionNomadland Fair Play Cinema Award SIGNIS Award - Honorable Mention Virginia Film Festival 2020 Best Narrative Feature American Perspectives Award
Other associations Award Year Category Nominated work Result AACTA International Awards 2021 Best Film Nomadland Best Direction Best Screenplay 2026 Best Direction Hamnet Best Screenplay Alliance of Women Film Journalists2021Best DirectorNomadland Best Screenplay, Adapted Best Editing Best Woman Director Best Female Screenwriter 2025 Best Director Hamnet Best Screenplay, Adapted Best Editing Best Woman Director Best Female Screenwriter Astra Film Awards 2018 Best Female Director The Rider 2021 Nomadland Best Adapted Screenplay Best Editing 2025 Best Director Hamnet Best Adapted Screenplay Austin Film Critics Association 2021 Best Director Nomadland Best Adapted Screenplay Best Film Editing Boston Online Film Critics Association 2020 Best Director Best Editing Boston Society of Film Critics Awards2020Best Director Best Editing Chicago Film Critics Association2020 Best Director Best Adapted Screenplay Best Editing 2025 Best Adapted Screenplay Hamnet Chlotrudis Awards 2019 Best Director The Rider Best Original Screenplay Columbus Film Critics Association 2021 Best DirectorNomadland Best Adapted Screenplay 2026 Hamnet Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association 2021 Best DirectorNomadland 2025 Hamnet Detroit Film Critics Society2020Best DirectorNomadland Best Adapted Screenplay Dorian Awards 2021 Best Director Best Screenplay Wilde Artist of the Year 2026 Best Director Hamnet Best Screenplay Florida Film Critics Circle Awards2020Best DirectorNomadland Best Adapted Screenplay 2025 Hamnet Georgia Film Critics Association 2021 Best DirectorNomadland Best Adapted Screenplay 2025 Best Director Hamnet Best Adapted Screenplay Houston Film Critics Society2021 Best DirectorNomadland Best Screenplay 2026 Best Director Hamnet IndieWire Critics Poll 2020 Best DirectorNomadland Kansas City Film Critics Circle 2021 Best Director Best Adapted Screenplay 2025 Hamnet Las Vegas Film Critics Society 2020 Best DirectorNomadland London Film Critics' Circle2021 Director of the Year Screenwriter of the Year 2026 Director of the Year Hamnet Screenwriter of the Year Los Angeles Film Critics Association 2018 New Generation Award 2020Best Director Nomadland Minnesota Film Critics Alliance 2021 Best Picture Best Director Best Adapted Screenplay 2026 Best Director Hamnet Best Adapted Screenplay National Society of Film Critics 2019 Best DirectorThe Rider 2021 Nomadland New York Film Critics Circle 2020Best Director New York Film Critics Online 2021 Best Director 2025 Hamnet Best Screenplay North Dakota Film Society 2021 Best Picture Nomadland Best Director Best Editing 2026 Best Director Hamnet Best Screenplay Online Film Critics Society2020Best Director Nomadland Best Adapted Screenplay Best Editing 2026Best Director Hamnet Best Adapted Screenplay San Diego Film Critics Society 2021 Best Director Nomadland Best Adapted Screenplay 2025 Best Director Hamnet Best Adapted Screenplay Best Editing San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle2020Best Director Nomadland Best Adapted Screenplay Best Film Editing 2025 Best Director Hamnet Best Adapted Screenplay Seattle Film Critics Society2020 Best Director Nomadland Best Screenplay Best Editing 2025 Best Director Hamnet St. Louis Film Critics Association 2020 Best Director Nomadland Best Adapted Screenplay Best Editing 2025 Best Director Hamnet Best Adapted Screenplay Toronto Film Critics Association 2021Best Director Nomadland Etan Vlessing, "Chloe Zhao's 'Nomadland' Named Best Picture by Toronto Film Critics Association". The Hollywood Reporter, February 7, 2021.Best Screenplay 2025 Best Adapted Screenplay Hamnet Vancouver Film Critics Circle 2021 Best Director Nomadland Etan Vlessing, "Vancouver Film Critics Circle: 'Mank' Leads With Five Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter, February 19, 2021. 2026 Hamnet Best Screenplay Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association2020 Best Director Nomadland Nomadland tops the Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards - Metro WeeklyBest Adapted Screenplay Best Editing 2025 Best Director Hamnet Best Adapted Screenplay Best Editing
Academy Award nominated performances from Zhao movies Directed Academy Award performancesUnder Zhao's direction, these actors have received Academy Award wins and nominations for their performances in their respective roles. +YearPerformerFilmResultAcademy Award for Best Actress2020Frances McDormandNomadland2025Jessie BuckleyHamnet
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