2021 Academy Awards Recap: Chloé Zhao Makes History, THE FATHER Takes Home Two Awards
Hosted in an unprecedented multi-location format, the 2021 Oscars proved that Hollywood’s biggest night hasn’t lost its capacity to surprise and spark conversation. Sunday’s ceremony honored three films that screened at last year’s Woodstock Film Festival, including Florian Zeller’s THE FATHER, Chloé Zhao’s NOMADLAND and the animated short IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU directed by Will McCormack and Michael Govier.
Following its success at last week’s Independent Spirit Awards, Chloé Zhao’s NOMADLAND took home the statuettes for Best Director and Best Picture with star Frances McDormand winning the Academy Award for Best Actress. McDormand also served as one of the film’s producers alongside Zhao, Peter Spears, Dan Janvey and WFF alum Mollye Asher. Zhao made Oscars history as the first woman of East Asian descent, first woman of color and only the second woman to win Best Director after filmmaker Katheryn Bigelow won for THE HURT LOCKER in 2009. NOMADLAND was the official Closing Night Film for the 2020 Woodstock Film Festival where it won the jury award for Best Narrative Feature. All eyes will be on Zhao in anticipation for her next project THE ETERNALS for Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is slated for release this November. NOMADLAND is now available to stream on Hulu, YouTube, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and Google Play.
Florian Zeller’s THE FATHER also had a big night, winning Best Adapted Screenplay and earning Anthony Hopkins his second Academy Award for Best Actor, his first win since his menacing performance as serial killer Hannibal Lector in 1992’s SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. THE FATHER was nominated in several categories, including Best Picture, Best Film Editing and Best Production Design with Olivia Coleman receiving a nod for Best Supporting Actress. It was the official Opening Night Film for the 2020 Woodstock Film Festival and can now be streamed on YouTube, Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Fandango, and Google Play.
Another notable honoree from Sunday’s ceremony was Will McCormack and Michael Govier’s IF ANYTHING HAPPENS I LOVE YOU, which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. A moving portrait of two grieving parents processing the death of their young daughter, the film screened as part of the Woodstock Film Festival’s animated shorts program and is available to watch on Netflix. Special thanks to our fantastic animation programmers Joy Buran and Noelle Melody for consistently curating such a strong selection of films year after year!
Rounding out our list of highlights is Danish auteur Thomas Vinterberg’s ANOTHER ROUND, which won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film and Netflix’s MY OCTOPUS TEACHER, which took home the prize for Best Documentary. Earlier this month we hosted a virtual talk with MY OCTOPUS TEACHER directors Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed moderated by Academy Award nominated filmmaker Rachel Grady. You can watch the whole conversation for free here.
Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees! Click here to see the full list.