22h08 PST 2/22/2021
in
Patrick Brzeski
The filmmaker’s Chinese origins and the film’s excitement about the Oscar generated interest among the country’s artistic community.
Chloé Zhao’s Oscar favorite Nomadland received the green light for a limited theatrical release in China.
The pace and themes of the neo-western used to be a challenge for the Chinese film market, but the director’s Chinese origins – and the acclaim her work has already received – have generated enthusiasm among some Chinese moviegoers.
Nomadland will be launched through the National Alliance of Arthouse Cinemas (NAAC), a government-backed organization that launches independent films in China with the support of major local exhibitors.
A source from one of the exhibitors who supports NAAC said The Hollywood Reporter Tuesday the film received official permission for limited release, but the exact date has not been set.
In recent years, NAAC has acquired the habit of importing and launching top Oscar candidates before or after the Oscar ceremony. Previous releases from the organization included Three billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri ($ 10.3 million), Manchester by the Sea ($ 1.2 million) and Bohemian Rhapsody ($ 14 million), as well as several Chinese and European art films.
Based on Jessica Bruder’s 2017 nonfiction book, Nomadland: surviving America in the twenty-first century, Nomadland is Zhao’s third feature, after the critically acclaimed Songs my brothers taught me and The pilot. Born in Beijing, Zhao attended film school at New York University and now resides in the United States. She recently directed the next Marvel movie The Eternals.
Nomadland follows Fern (Frances McDormand), a widow who leaves her small town to explore life outside conventional society. THRCritic David Rooney called the film “a powerful study of the character of a different type of freedom fighter”.