THE CINEMA OF CHLOÉ ZHAO

“I often feel like an outsider wherever I go, so I’m always attracted to stories about identity and the meaning of home.”

Chloe Zhao

Our love of Chloé Zhao knows no bounds and to celebrate her incredible body of work we’ve commissioned a video essay spotlighting her feature films thus far.

Written and directed by Margarita Milne, the video essay is divided into five areas – home, authenticity, compassion, genre and nature – which Milne hopes will shine a light on Zhao’s work and the inspiring ways in which Zhao captures the world around her.

Margarita Milne is a writer-director who has just graduated from the NFTS, where she was awarded a David Lean Scholarship to study Directing Fiction. Her dissertation, Authenticity: The Art of Storytelling Far from Home, focused on the value of Zhao’s process. Zhao is Margarita’s favourite director because she admires her organic approach to storytelling and her integrity as a filmmaker. Margarita has just completed her graduation film, When She Was Good, which will be screening at BFI Southbank on the 25th May.

Website – www.margaritamilne.com // Instagram – @margaritamilne

01. SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME (2015)

Songs My Brothers Taught Me is the 2015 feature debut from Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Chloé Zhao (The Rider, Nomadland), telling a touching and tragic coming of age story set against the stark beauty of South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation. Praised for its authentic depiction of an underrepresented social milieu, this is a wistful and delicately observed tale of loss and familial bonds that marks the auspicious introduction of a distinctive and undeniable talent.

The film streaming now exclusively on MUBI. Watch it now.

02. THE RIDER (2017)

Once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, Brady is warned that his competition days are over after a tragic riding accident. Back home, he finds himself wondering what he has to live for when he can no longer do what gives him a sense of purpose: to ride and compete. In an attempt to regain control of his fate, he tries to redefine his idea of what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.

The film is available to watch now on digital. Find out where here.

03. NOMADLAND (2020)

Following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, Fern (Frances McDormand) packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. The third feature film from director Chloé Zhao, NOMADLAND features real nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells as Fern’s mentors and comrades in her exploration through the vast landscape of the American West.

NOMADLAND premieres on Star on Disney+ on 30 April and will be available in cinemas from 17 May. Find out more here.