The Best Picture-winning film “Nomadland,” written and directed by Chloé Zhao, and based on journalist Jessica Bruder’s 2017 nonfiction bestseller, “Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century” narrates the lives of Americans facing a post-Great Recession reality— ‘houseless-ness.’ People who lost their homes in the financial crisis have become ‘nomads,’ living full-time in their vehicles.

Following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. The third feature film from director Chloé Zhao, NOMADLAND features real nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells as Fern’s mentors and comrades in her exploration through the vast landscape of the American West. – Searchlight Pictures