LOS ANGELES, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese-born director Chloe Zhao or Zhao Ting has been named the best director of 2020 for "Nomadland" by the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the American film critic organization announced on Sunday.

"Nomadland" also received recognition as runner-up for best picture and best cinematography by the organization which is comprised of Los Angeles-based, professional film critics working in the Los Angeles print and electronic media.

"Nomadland" is the third feature film from Zhao, a Beijing native who went to the United States when she was 15. Based on Jessica Bruder's 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century, the film stars two-time Oscar winner Frances McDormand as an out-of-work woman who packs her van and sets off from her small town to travel around the vast landscape of the American West, exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad.

"Nomadland" has won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the People's Choice Award at the Toronto International Film Festival earlier this year, making history to be the first film that has won both top honors.

Zhao was also named the best director of the year by another major American film critic organization, the New York Film Critics Circle, on Friday.

Both Zhao and her film are now widely considered as front-runner in this Hollywood awards season.