Nomadland is a 2020 American drama film directed by Chloé Zhao, who also wrote, edited, and co-produced. It stars Frances McDormand, David Strathairn, Linda May, Charlene Swankie, and Bob Wells. The film is based on the 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century by Jessica Bruder, and follows a woman who leaves her small town to travel around the American Midwest.