LOS ANGELES (REUTERS) - Nomadland, a recession-era tale about a community of van dwellers in the American West, won the Oscar for best picture on Sunday (April 25).

The film stars Frances McDormand as a widow in a depressed Nevada mining town who turns her van into a mobile home and sets out on the road, taking seasonal jobs and making friends along the way.

Directed by China native Chloe Zhao, Nomadland was widely considered the front-runner heading into Hollywood's biggest night, having dominated this year's awards season.

The film is based on a 2017 non-fiction book by Jessica Bruder and features real-life nomads in supporting roles as fictionalised versions of themselves.

The other best picture nominees were Vietnam-era courtroom drama The Trial Of The Chicago 7, 1930s Hollywood drama Mank, #MeToo revenge tale Promising Young Woman, South Korean immigrant story Minari, civil rights biopic Judas And The Black Messiah, dementia tale The Father and Sound Of Metal, about a deaf drummer.