Focus on Chloé Zhao

With the awards season approaching, join us in the cinema for an early‑career retrospective celebrating one of the most acclaimed cinematic voices today.

It’s been an awards‑season favourite since day one. When Hamnet premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in August, it attracted instant acclaim. The festival is known for its highly anticipated premieres and as a first stop in a film’s journey to the awards season – and what a journey the film has had.

It’s unusual for such a celebrated director to work so steadfastly in mostly American genres, but Chloé Zhao’s films play with them, elevate them and ultimately transcend them. The Rider works within the classic Western tradition but inverts the frontier to tell a story of First Nations people navigating life on the land. Nomadland takes to the road movie with the political savvy to draw commentary on the tension between two American Dreams: home ownership and personal freedom. And through her superhero film Eternals, Chloé Zhao plays by her own rules, zooming out to observe the heroes from a unique perspective across eons.

It’s exciting that after only five feature films, the director has carved out such a distinctive career and has amassed a huge collection of accolades, including two Academy Awards. Join us as we celebrate the cinema of Chloé Zhao.

– Reece Goodwin, Senior Programmer (Film & Screen Industry)