Frances McDormand

For the first time in its 93-year-history, two women have been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Director: Chloé Zhao's Nomadland and Emerald Fennell's Promising Young Woman. Only five women have ever been nominated for this award.

Zhao is also the first Asian woman nominated for Best Director. She recently made history by being the first Asian woman to win the Golden Globe for Best Director. Nomadland is also nominated for five other Oscars, including Actress in a Leading Role (Frances McDormand), Best Screenplay (Chloé Zhao), Cinematography (Joshua James Richards) and Film Editing (Chloé Zhao).

The British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA) has announced the 2021 nominees for its annual award show. Four out of six nominees for the Best Director Award this year are women, ending a decade-long run of all-male nominees in this category: Sarah Gavron (Rocks), Chloe Zhao (Nomadland), Jasmine Zbanic (Quo Vadis, Aida?) and Shannon Murphy (Babyteeth).

Nomadland also sees nominations for Best Film, Best Leading Actress (Frances McDormand), Best Adapted Screenplay (Chloe Zhao), Cinematography (Joshua James Richards), Best Editing (Chloé Zhao), and Best Sound (Sergio Diaz, Zach Seivers, M. Wolf Snyder).

The late Chadwick Boseman is nominated for Best Film, Best Leading Actor for his role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.