Nomadland Wins the Oscar for Best Picture

Nomadland won the 2021 Academy Award for Best Picture on Sunday night — beating out The Father, Mank, Promising Young Woman, Judas and the Black Messiah, Minari, The Trial of the Chicago 7, and Sound of Metal. 

The film was based on Jessica Bruder’s book of the same name and starred Frances McDormand as Fern, whose entire community was forced to move after a gypsum plant that fueled the town shut down.

Chloé Zhao, having both written and directed the film, accepted the award on Sunday night — thanking those who worked on the movie with her.

McDormand later took the stage, letting out an epic howl to mark the occasion.

“Please, watch our movie on the largest screen possible, and one day, very, very soon, take everyone you know into a theater, shoulder to shoulder, in that dark space, and watch every film that is represented here tonight,” she said before dedicating the award to “our wolf” and giving her best impression.

Zhao also took home the award for Best Director, becoming the first woman of color to do so, and only the second woman to ever win the category. Prior to Zhao’s win, Kathryn Bigelow was the only female director to win the award, taking home the Oscar in 2010 for that year’s best picture The Hurt Locker.

Nomadland also won almost every major category this season, including taking home coveted awards from the Producers Guild, the Directors Guild, and the Golden Globes.

Watch above, via ABC.