GoWest Photography by Austin Hargrave
The dusty red Badlands of South Dakota form a harsh and unforgiving landscape that supports only the hardiest of lifeforms. But for the director Chloé Zhao, those same windswept plains and dramatic rock formations offer fertile ground for rich stories and vivid characters.
In the autumn of 2018, Zhao, who was born in Beijing but has lived most of her adult life in America, drove into the heart of Badlands National Park with a skeleton crew and a cast led by Frances McDormand, plus four individuals she describes as real-life, van-dwelling, modern-day nomads. For four months, this somewhat unconventional band rode on bumpy terrain and slept beneath the stars while filming Nomadland.
After premiering last September, Nomadland would go on to become the first film to win the top prize at both the Venice and Toronto international film festivals in the same year. And last month, Zhao became the first woman of Asian descent (and only the second woman ever) to win best director at the Golden Globe Awards, where the film was also awarded best drama.
“ at its core is a pilgrimage through grief and healing,”
