April 25 (Reuters) - "Nomadland," a recession-era tale about a community of van dwellers in the American West, won the Oscar for best picture on Sunday.
The film stars Frances McDormand as a widow in a depressed Nevada mining town who turns her van into a mobile home and sets out on the road, taking seasonal jobs and making friends along the way.
Directed by China native Chloe Zhao, "Nomadland" was widely considered the front-runner heading into Hollywood's biggest night, having dominated this year's awards season.
The film is based on a 2017 nonfiction book by Jessica Bruder and features real-life nomads in supporting roles as fictionalized versions of themselves.
The other best picture nominees were Vietnam-era courtroom drama 'The Trial of the Chicago 7," 1930s Hollywood drama "Mank," #MeToo revenge tale "Promising Young Woman," South Korean immigrant story "Minari," civil rights biopic "Judas and the Black Messiah," dementia tale "The Father" and "Sound of
Metal," about a deaf drummer.
