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Chinese-born director Chloe Zhao's 'Nomadland' scores 6 nominations for U.S. HCA Awards
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Chloé Zhao attends the Drive-In Premiere of "Nomadland" hosted by Fox Searchlight and the Telluride Film Festival at Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, September 11, 2020. /CFP

Chloé Zhao attends the Drive-In Premiere of "Nomadland" hosted by Fox Searchlight and the Telluride Film Festival at Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, September 11, 2020. /CFP

Chinese-born director Chloe Zhao's feature film "Nomadland" earned six nominations including Best Picture on Tuesday for the 4th Annual Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) Film Awards.

The road-trip drama, starring Frances McDormand, remains a favorite among critics in the HCA awards, a lead-up to the Oscars this year, with Zhao pocketing three individual nods, namely Best Female Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Film Editing.

Two-time Oscar winner McDormand, who plays a woman who loses everything in a recession and embarks on a journey through the American West, was nominated for Best Actress. The film's cinematographer Joshua James Richards was shortlisted for Best Cinematography.

Based on a 2017 non-fiction book, the film has racked up accolades across the U.S. Its latest trophies included Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography from the 2020 Atlanta Film Critics Circle Awards on Monday.

Earlier, "Nomadland" had won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival, making history as the first to win both honors.

Emerald Fennell's thriller film "Promising Young Woman" led the pack with nine nominations for this year's HCA Film Awards, while Regina King's drama film "One Night in Miami" is the second-most nominated film with eight nods.

Netflix's drama film "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and biographical drama film "Mank" received seven nominations each.

"2020 was a challenging year for the film industry. As movie theaters worldwide were forced to close due to a global pandemic, studios began to explore new ways to release their films to audiences," said HCA Chairman Scott Menzel in a press release.

"As critics, we missed the experience of watching movies on the big screen, but like the studios, we embraced the new normal as we consumed films through various streaming links, apps, and virtual screening platforms," he added.

HCA Co-Chair Ashley Menzel noted that 2020 was a groundbreaking year for film in many ways.

"Streaming became the norm and prompted many studios to shift their focus to creating content for their digital platforms. Also, a good portion of the films released in 2020 were directed by women or people of color," she said.

"We, as an organization, hope this continues to happen as we move into the future. We are looking forward to seeing more inclusivity on-screen, hopefully not just in awards films, but in movies in general," she concluded.

Last year, the group's best picture prize went to Sam Mendes' World War I epic "1917."

The HCA, formerly known as the Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society until 2019, will hold its annual film awards ceremony virtually on March 5.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency

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