The Oscars (2021 TV Special)

Chloé Zhao: Self - Winner

Quotes 

• Self - Winner : Oh my god. I did not expect to win this award. I am so, so, so, so grateful. Not only to win but to be a part of such an important, important story. So thank you so much. Thank you to the Academy - I've always wanted to say that. And of course, my collaborators D'Mile and Tiara Thomas, the song wouldn't be what it was without them. Of course I have to thank God for giving us these gifts, and my parents, my beautiful mother who's here with me today and my father at home. All those days of listening to Sly and the Family Stone and Curtis Mayfield and Marvin Gaye, they really paid off. So thank you, Dad. Thank you so much to Archie and Shaka King and everybody that was involved in this movie and gave me the call and gave us the call to do this record. I'm so, so grateful. I just want to say this. You know, musicians, filmmakers, I believe we have an opportunity and a responsibility, to me, to tell the truth and to write history the way that it was and how it connects us to today and what we see going on in the world today. And yeah, I'm just, I have no words. I'm just so, so, so happy and grateful. And yeah, knowledge is power. Music is power. And as long as I'm standing I'm always gonna fight for us. I'm always gonna fight for my people and fight for what's right, and I think that's what music does and that's what storytelling does. So thank you so much. Thank you.

  Self - Winner : No, I'm not. I'm Fran. Please watch our movie on the largest screen possible. And one day very, very soon take everyone you know into a theater, shoulder to shoulder in that dark space, and watch every film that's represented here tonight. We give this one to our Wolf.

• Self - Winner : Oh, man. Thank you. Thank you to the Academy. Thank you to my brilliant, brilliant nominees, fellow nominees, thank you. My entire "Nomadland" company, what a crazy once-in-a-lifetime journey we went on together. Thank you so much. I'm so grateful to you. I've been thinking a lot lately of how I keep going when things get hard. And I think, I think it goes back to something I learned when I was a kid. When I was growing up in China my dad and I used to play this game. We would memorize classic Chinese poems and texts, and we would recite it together and try to finish each other's sentences. And there's one that I remember so dearly. It's called the "Three Character Classics." And the first phrase goes: rén zhi chu, xìng ben shàn. "People at birth are inherently good." And those six letters had such a great impact on me when I was a kid, and I still truly believe them today. Even though sometimes it might seem like the opposite is true, but I have always found goodness in the people I've met, everywhere I went in the world. So this is for anyone who has the faith and the courage to hold on to the goodness in themselves, and to hold on to the goodness in each other, no matter how difficult it is to do that. And this is for you. You inspire me to keep going. Thank you. Thank you.