2021 Oscars: ‘Nomadland’ wins Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Director in historic Academy Awards

After the longest Oscar season of the modern era and and only the third time in Academy history the ceremony was postponed (the first was in 1968 after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and then in 1981 after the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan), the 93rd Academy Awards are here.

This season, because the coronavirus pandemic that ripped through the world in 2020, the Academy chose to extend the eligibility of films two months into 2020 instead of its traditional calendar year period. Films released between January 1, 2020 and February 28, 2021 were eligible to compete and the Academy also loosened its rules (for this year only) about streaming films in a year that saw the theaters closed for the majority of the year. But this season’s 14 months wasn’t the longest; that belongs to the 6th Academy Awards, which had a 17-month eligibility period. In fact, the first five Oscars used an August-July period, crossing years. It wasn’t until the 7th Academy Awards that they adopted a traditional calendar year for releases.

In this truly exceptional year, the Oscars are being held largely at the Mission and Art Deco-influenced Union Station in Los Angeles instead of the traditional Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Show producers Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher and Academy Award-winning director Steven Soderbergh have planned a fluid and intimate show, with sets designed by Tony-winning production designer David Rockwell. There will be satellite feeds from around the world, including London and Paris; the Paris Canal+ studio and rooftop will host about seven local nominees (and guests) representing Florian Zeller’s The Father and Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal. Other nominee from across the pond have been in Los Angeles quarantining since early April to meet the requirements from the show and for legal travel. The Oscars pre-show will host four of the five Original Song nominees performed in full on the rooftop of the new Academy Museum, with “Husavik” coming in via Husavik, Iceland.

Oscar history was made as two women, Chloé Zhao and Emerald Fennell, were both nominated in Best Director. It marked the first time in history that two women were nominated in that category in the same year with Zhao winning, making her the first Chinese-American woman winner in Best Director.

“This is for anyone who has the faith & the courage to hold out for the goodness in themselves & each other, no matter how hard it is to do that,” said Zhao in her acceptance speech for Best Director.

Eleven actors are first-time nominees (Riz Ahmed, Maria Bakalova, Chadwick Boseman, Andra Day, Vanessa Kirby, Leslie Odom, Jr., Paul Raci, Amanda Seyfried, Lakeith Stanfield, Steven Yeun and Yuh-Jung Youn). Five of the nominees are previous acting winners (Olivia Colman, Viola Davis, Anthony Hopkins, Frances McDormand and Gary Oldman). Anthony Hopkins was the only acting nominee who was also nominated last year and won in a bit of an upset over Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.

Frances McDormand (Nomadland) became only the second woman to win three Best Actress awards and the first to also win Best Picture (Nomadland) for film she’s starring in.

Every Best Picture nominee won at least one award expect for The Trial of the Chicago 7, which went home empty-handed.

Here is the complete list of nominees of the 93rd Academy Awards with winners in bold.

BEST PICTURE

• The Father – David Parfitt, Jean-Louis Livi and Philippe Carcassonne, Producers
• Judas and the Black Messiah – Shaka King, Charles D. King and Ryan Coogler, Producers
• Mank – Ceán Chaffin, Eric Roth and Douglas Urbanski, Producers
• Minari – Christina Oh, Producer
• Nomadland – Frances McDormand, Peter Spears, Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey and Chloé Zhao, Producers [WINNER]
• Promising Young Woman – Ben Browning, Ashley Fox, Emerald Fennell and Josey McNamara, Producers
• Sound of Metal – Bert Hamelinck and Sacha Ben Harroche, Producers
• The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Marc Platt and Stuart Besser, Producers

BEST DIRECTOR

• Another Round – Thomas Vinterberg
• Mank – David Fincher
• Minari – Lee Isaac Chung
• Nomadland – Chloé Zhao [WINNER]
• Promising Young Woman – Emerald Fennell

BEST ACTOR

• Riz Ahmed in Sound of Metal
• Chadwick Boseman in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Anthony Hopkins in The Father [WINNER]
• Gary Oldman in Mank
• Steven Yeun in Minari

SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Sacha Baron Cohen in The Trial of the Chicago 7
• Daniel Kaluuya in Judas and the Black Messiah [WINNER]
• Leslie Odom, Jr. in One Night in Miami…
• Paul Raci in Sound of Metal
• LaKeith Stanfield in Judas and the Black Messiah

BEST ACTRESS

• Viola Davis in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
• Andra Day in The United States vs. Billie Holiday
• Vanessa Kirby in Pieces of a Woman
• Frances McDormand in Nomadland [WINNER]
• Carey Mulligan in Promising Young Woman

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Maria Bakalova in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
• Glenn Close in Hillbilly Elegy
• Olivia Colman in The Father
• Amanda Seyfried in Mank
• Yuh-Jung Youn in Minari [WINNER]

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan – Screenplay by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Peter Baynham & Erica Rivinoja & Dan Mazer & Jena Friedman & Lee Kern; Story by Sacha Baron Cohen & Anthony Hines & Dan Swimer & Nina Pedrad
• The Father – Screenplay by Christopher Hampton and Florian Zeller [WINNER]
• Nomadland – Written for the screen by Chloé Zhao
• One Night in Miami… – Screenplay by Kemp Powers
• The White Tiger – Written for the screen by Ramin Bahrani

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• Judas and the Black Messiah – Screenplay by Will Berson & Shaka King; Story by Will Berson & Shaka King and Kenny Lucas & Keith Lucas
• Minari – Written by Lee Isaac Chung
• Promising Young Woman – Written by Emerald Fennell [WINNER]
• Sound of Metal – Screenplay by Darius Marder & Abraham Marder; Story by Darius Marder & Derek Cianfrance
• The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Written by Aaron Sorkin

FILM EDITING

• The Father – Yorgos Lamprinos
• Nomadland – Chloé Zhao
• Promising Young Woman – Frédéric Thoraval
• Sound of Metal – Mikkel E. G. Nielsen [WINNER]
• The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Alan Baumgarten

CINEMATOGRAPHY

• Judas and the Black Messiah – Sean Bobbitt
• Mank – Erik Messerschmidt [WINNER]
• News of the World – Dariusz Wolski
• Nomadland – Joshua James Richards
• The Trial of the Chicago 7 – Phedon Papamichael

PRODUCTION DESIGN

• The Father – Production Design: Peter Francis; Set Decoration: Cathy Featherstone
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Production Design: Mark Ricker; Set Decoration: Karen O’Hara and Diana Stoughton
• Mank – Production Design: Donald Graham Burt; Set Decoration: Jan Pascale [WINNER]
• News of the World – Production Design: David Crank; Set Decoration: Elizabeth Keenan
• Tenet – Production Design: Nathan Crowley; Set Decoration: Kathy Lucas

COSTUME DESIGN

• Emma – Alexandra Byrne
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Ann Roth [WINNER]
• Mank – Trish Summerville
• Mulan – Bina Daigeler
• Pinocchio – Massimo Cantini Parrini

MAKEUP AND HAIRSTYLING

• Emma – Marese Langan, Laura Allen and Claudia Stolze
• Hillbilly Elegy – Eryn Krueger Mekash, Matthew Mungle and Patricia Dehaney
• Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson [WINNER]
• Mank – Gigi Williams, Kimberley Spiteri and Colleen LaBaff
• Pinocchio – Mark Coulier, Dalia Colli and Francesco Pegoretti

ORIGINAL SCORE

• Da 5 Bloods – Terence Blanchard
• Mank – Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
• Minari – Emile Mosseri
• News of the World – James Newton Howard
• Soul – Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste [WINNER]

ORIGINAL SONG

• “Fight For You” from Judas and the Black Messiah [WINNER]
  Music by H.E.R. and Dernst Emile II; Lyric by H.E.R. and Tiara Thomas
• “Hear My Voice” from The Trial of the Chicago 7
  Music by Daniel Pemberton; Lyric by Daniel Pemberton and Celeste Waite
• “Husavik” from Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga
  Music and Lyric by Savan Kotecha, Fat Max Gsus and Rickard Göransson
• “Io Sì (Seen)” from The Life Ahead (La Vita Davanti a Se)
  Music by Diane Warren; Lyric by Diane Warren and Laura Pausini
• “Speak Now” from One Night in Miami…
  Music and Lyric by Leslie Odom, Jr. and Sam Ashworth

SOUND

• Greyhound – Warren Shaw, Michael Minkler, Beau Borders and David Wyman
• Mank – Ren Klyce, Jeremy Molod, David Parker, Nathan Nance and Drew Kunin
• News of the World – Oliver Tarney, Mike Prestwood Smith, William Miller and John Pritchett
• Soul – Ren Klyce, Coya Elliott and David Parker
• Sound of Metal – Nicolas Becker, Jaime Baksht, Michelle Couttolenc, Carlos Cortés and Phillip Bladh [WINNER]

VISUAL EFFECTS

• Love and Monsters – Matt Sloan, Genevieve Camilleri, Matt Everitt and Brian Cox
• The Midnight Sky – Matthew Kasmir, Christopher Lawrence, Max Solomon and David Watkins
• Mulan – Sean Faden, Anders Langlands, Seth Maury and Steve Ingram
• The One and Only Ivan – Nick Davis, Greg Fisher, Ben Jones and Santiago Colomo Martinez
• Tenet – Andrew Jackson, David Lee, Andrew Lockley and Scott Fisher [WINNER]

ANIMATED FEATURE

• Onward – Dan Scanlon and Kori Rae
• Over the Moon – Glen Keane, Gennie Rim and Peilin Chou
• A Shaun the Sheep Movie: Farmageddon – Richard Phelan, Will Becher and Paul Kewley
• Soul – Pete Docter and Dana Murray [WINNER]
• Wolfwalkers – Tomm Moore, Ross Stewart, Paul Young and Stéphan Roelants

DOCUMENTARY FEATURE

• Collective – Alexander Nanau and Bianca Oana
• Crip Camp – Nicole Newnham, Jim LeBrecht and Sara Bolder
• The Mole Agent – Maite Alberdi and Marcela Santibáñez
• My Octopus Teacher – Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed and Craig Foster [WINNER]
• Time – Garrett Bradley, Lauren Domino and Kellen Quinn

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM

• Another Round (Denmark) [WINNER]
• Better Days (Hong Kong)
• Collective (Romania)
• The Man Who Sold His Skin (Tunisia)
• Quo Vadis, Aida? (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

ANIMATED SHORT

• Burrow – Madeline Sharafian and Michael Capbarat
• Genius Loci – Adrien Mérigeau and Amaury Ovise
• If Anything Happens I Love You – Will McCormack and Michael Govier [WINNER]
• Opera – Erick Oh
• Yes-People – Gísli Darri Halldórsson and Arnar Gunnarsson

DOCUMENTARY SHORT SUBJECT

• Colette – Anthony Giacchino and Alice Doyard [WINNER]
• A Concerto Is a Conversation – Ben Proudfoot and Kris Bowers
• Do Not Split – Anders Hammer and Charlotte Cook
• Hunger Ward – Skye Fitzgerald and Michael Scheuerman
• A Love Song for Latasha – Sophia Nahli Allison and Janice Duncan

LIVE ACTION SHORT

• Feeling Through – Doug Roland and Susan Ruzenski
• The Letter Room – Elvira Lind and Sofia Sondervan
• The Present – Farah Nabulsi
• Two Distant Strangers – Travon Free and Martin Desmond Roe [WINNER]
• White Eye – Tomer Shushan and Shira Hochman

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Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

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