From Chloé Zhao to 'Minari,' reactions to 2021 Oscars winners Nabeeha Anwar | Illustration Editor Facebook Subscribe to our newsletter here. While some of the Academy Award-winners were predictable, there were a few that were not expected to take home the golden trophy. Here are our reactions to the major winners. Best Picture: Nomadland No surprise here as “Nomadland” wins best picture. Chloé Zhao’s film has almost completely swept awards season as the movie has won best picture at every major award show except for the Screen Actors Guild Awards. This marks the second Oscar win of the night for Zhao and the third overall Oscar for Frances McDormand as a producer, who won best actress for the film. Zhao became the second woman to direct a best picture winner after Kathryn Bigelow for the 2009 film “The Hurt Locker.”