Print Eight months ago, Chloé Zhao drove from her Ojai home down the 101 Freeway to the Rose Bowl for the pop-up drive-in premiere of “Nomadland,” the poignant story of a widow grappling with grief and finding community on the road with a group of travelers. Nearing Pasadena, Zhao began noticing camper vans and RVs and wondered if they were some of the actual “nomads” who’d be attending the splashy event, billed as “Telluride from Los Angeles.” She also started seeing ash clouding the orange sky. The Bobcat fire was burning in the nearby San Gabriel Mountains, lending an apocalyptic air to what was supposed to be a celebratory evening.