Oscars 2021: Nomadland wins Best Picture

The film is released in the UK this week

The latest Best Picture Oscar winner has been named.

Nomadland, the drama from Chloé Zhao starring Frances McDormand, was awarded the evening’s top prize, which rounds out its impressive awards haul since it first premiered in 2019.

Zhao accepted the award, thanking “the people on the road” for showing the film’s cast and crew “what true kindness looks like”.

McDormand, who attended the ceremony with husband Joel Coen and co-star Swankie, then urged people to “take everyone you know” to watch the film on the largest screen they can find once cinemas reopen.

Nomadland follows a woman who, after losing everything in the Great Recession, embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.

The drama was scheduled to be released in the UK in January, but was delayed due to the pandemic.

It will be available to stream on Disney Plus from 30 April with a cinema release following once they reopen in May.

Nomadland joins Parasite, Green Book and The Shape of Water as the most recent Best Picture winners.

Chloé Zhao won Best Director for the 2021 Best Picture winner ‘Nomadland’ (Photo by Todd Wawrychuk/A.M.P.A.S. via Getty Images)

Earlier in the evening, Zhao took home Best Director, becoming the first woman of colour to do so, with McDormand taking home her third Best Actress trophy in a surprise victory.

Elsewhere, Anthony Hopkins beat Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom star Chadwick Boseman, who died in August 2020, to win Best Actor for The Father.

Find a full list of winners here.