Effortlessly blending together fiction and documentary, Chloé Zhao is arevelation to the world of film. This past April, the Bejing-born writer, filmmaker, and producer walked awayfrom the 93rd Oscars with a beaming smile and two Academy Awards: one for BestPicture and another for Best Director. Zhao is the second woman to take home theBest Director statue, and the first woman of color to ever win the category. Photo credit: Andrew Eccles for Variety[https://variety.com/2021/film/directors/chloe-zhao-oscars-nomadland-marvel-eternals-dracula-1234961719/].The winning film, Nomadland (2020), is a documentary-style drama starringFrances McDormand. Indeed, it was McDormand who approached Zhao to work on Nomadland back in 2017 after sneaking out of promotional duties for ThreeBillboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). The pair traveled throughout theUnited States for months, meeting nomads whose stories ultimately made it intothe experience of the film. Such is characteristic of Zhao's filmmaking style:"I'm looking for some kind of truth," Zhao told NPR[https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-oscars-2021/2021/04/25/988816124/chloe-zhao-is-the-first-woman-of-color-to-win-oscar-for-best-director]. "I'm looking for some kind of authentic moments."Zhao's productions uniquely seek a cast of non-actors and actors alike. Theblending of fiction with story, experience with narrative, allows the directorto paint a colorful and authentic representation of the lives of those nototherwise represented on the big screen. Her technique often relies on shootingon location, a practice which she has repeated for each of her three films.What's more: Zhao enjoys full control over her work. For Nomadland, Zhao posedas writer, director, producer and editor, while McDormand both performed andproduced. Photo credit: Fandangonow.com[https://www.fandangonow.com/details/movie/nomadland-2021/MMV25078142F3EE931C7643E14A80BDB7FFF].Zhao recently completed filming for an upcoming Marvel production, Eternals. Thefilm stars some of Hollywood's finest, including Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek,and Kit Harrington. While the film represents a stylistic point of departure forZhao, her process remains aligned. In a recent Variety[https://variety.com/2021/film/directors/chloe-zhao-oscars-nomadland-marvel-eternals-dracula-1234961719/] interview, Zhao responded to the change in pace:> "Props to Marvel — from early on, they knew the way I wanted to make this film,how I wanted to shoot. It can’t be hundreds of people standing around. So theyvery much adapted how to run the set the way that I wanted to work. I’m stillsurrounded by 25 people. They just have armies, and each of them knew theyneeded to keep the army away."Born and raised in Beijing, Zhao attended a boarding school in London beforethen moving to Los Angeles to finish high school. After working odd jobs as abartender, real estate agent, and even party promoter, Zhao returned to schoolto receive her degree in Film Production from New York University's Tisch Schoolfor the Arts. In 2015, Zhao directed her first feature, Songs My Brothers TaughtMe, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival. The film, which was shot onlocation, features the relationship between a Lakota Sioux brother and hisyounger sister on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota.As Zhao continues to capture the world, the world continues to watch withrapture. Check out a trailer for Eternals below.