Chloe Zhao (left) and Steven Spielberg pose in the press room with the award for best motion picture - drama for Hamnet during the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif. - AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
BEVERLY HILLS, US (Agencies): Asia celebrated after the Golden Globes ended with a bang as Chloe Zhao's Shakespeare drama "Hamnet" took home the top prize for Best Film – Drama.
In a report from Deadline, after the Focus Features film was announced winner, the legendary Steven Spielberg gave a shout-out to one of the film’s fellow producers, Sam Mendes, who sent Maggie O’Farrell novel reimagining the life of William Shakespeare to Spielberg. After reading it, Spielberg said, he knew of only one person who could tell the story.
“I loved the book and thought there was only filmmaker on the face of the planet that could tell this story and that was Chloe Zhao,” Spielberg said.
It was the second win of the night for the film after Jessie Buckley won for best female actor in a drama. The other films nominated in the drama category included Sinners, Sentimental Value, It Was Just An Accident and The Secret Agent.
In her speech, Zhao talked about the those that had lost loved ones during the production and how the cast and crew were still thinking of them. She then relayed what her Hamnet star Paul Mescal told her that morning.
“He said that making Hamnet made him realize that the most important thing about making the film was learning to be vulnerable enough to allow ourselves to be seen for who we are, for who we ought to be, and to give ourselves fully to the world even the parts of ourselves we are shamed of, that we are afraid of, that are imperfect, so that the people that we speak to they can fully accept themselves for who they are,” she said.
She added how honored she was to be a room of people doing that, calling out fellow nominee Ryan Coogler of Sinners, and ended by saying that the work they have done is important for this industry.
“I see so many of you have become so strong and tender at the same time and shared so much of yourselves to the world,” Zhao said. “So salute your bravery and your dedication lets keep seeing each other and let each other be seen.”
For the record, Zhao has been hitting the headlines in a big manner in the United States over the last few years.
Zhao (born Zhao Ting, on 31 March 1982) is a Chinese-born filmmaker and is known primarily for her work on independent films. For her film Nomadland (2020), Zhao is the second of three women to win the Academy Award for Best Director.
Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015), her debut feature film, premiered at Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim and earned a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature. The Rider (2017) was critically acclaimed and received nominations for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film and Best Director.
Zhao garnered international recognition with the American film Nomadland (2020), which she wrote, produced, edited and directed, and which won numerous accolades, including the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Earning four Academy Award nominations for the film, Zhao won Best Picture and Best Director, becoming the first woman of Asian descent to win the latter. She also won awards for directing at the Directors Guild of America Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and British Academy Film Awards, becoming the second female winner of each of them.
Zhao also co-wrote and directed the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Eternals in 2021. - Agencies
