Chloé Zhao

Academy Award-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao, known for her distinctive, authentic storytelling, refined her skills at New York University Tisch School of the Arts. Her short film Daughters (2010) premiered at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival, winning Best Student Live Action Short at the Palm Springs International ShortFest and a Special Jury Prize at the Cinequest Film Festival. Zhao’s feature debut, Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015), premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and played at Cannes Director’s Fortnight. It earned a Best First Feature nomination at the 31st Independent Spirit Awards, establishing her signature method of working with non-professional actors and exploring authentic human experiences.

Released by Searchlight Pictures in 2021, Nomadland swept the awards season. Zhao made history by winning the Academy Award for Best Director, becoming the second woman and first woman of color to achieve this honor. She also won the Academy Award for Best Picture, the Golden Globe for Best Director, and BAFTA Awards for Best Direction and Best Film in 2021. Nomadland amassed 34 directing, 13 screenplay, and nine editing awards that year; Zhao was also named to the Time 100 list.

Her Marvel Studios film Eternals was released in 2021. Most recently, Zhao served as an executive producer on The Graduates (2023). Her upcoming projects include directing the feature film Hamnet, slated for a 2025 release, and she is set to direct the pilot episode for a revival of Buffy the Vampire Slayer on Hulu in 2025.