Oscar-winning film director Chloe Zhao honored at Ojai Film Festival
OJAI, Calif. -- Chloe Zhao was honored at the 2021 Ojai Film Festival on Saturday.
The Ojai resident was honored with the 2021 Distinguished Artist Award.
Zhao had an in-person Q&A with film guests after viewing her 2017 film 'The Rider'.
Guests then enjoyed a reception after the film at the Ojai Arts Center.
'The Rider' is an American contemporary western drama shot in the Badlands of South Dakota. It follows a young cowboy's journey to self-discovery after a near-fatal accident that ends his bronc-riding career. The film won the Art Cinema Award at the Cannes Film Festival and received Independent Spirit Award nominations for Best Film and Best Director.
Zhao is most notably known for her film 'Nomadland' which she wrote and directed. It won the Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards. Zhao is the first woman of Asian descent to have won the Golden Globe for directing and is the second woman ever to win, with Barbra Streisand being the first in 1984.
Zhao's most recent film 'The Eternals' came out last weekend and is the latest installment in the Marvel Universe.
Zhao was born in Beijing before attending boarding school in London and moved to Los Angeles to finish high school. She worked random jobs before studying film production at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
