Chloé Zhao
Birth : 1982-03-31, Beijing, China
History
Chloé Zhao or Zhao Ting (born March 31, 1982) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, and producer. Her debut feature film, Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015), premiered at Sundance Film Festival. Her second feature film, The Rider (2017), was critically acclaimed and received several accolades including nominations for Independent Spirit Award for Best Film and Best Director.
Zhao was born and raised in Beijing, China, to father and stepmother, Chinese actress Song DanDan. Growing up, she was very rebellious, and drawn to influences from Western pop culture. She attended a boarding school in London before moving to Los Angeles to finish high school. Zhao studied at Mount Holyoke College earning a bachelor's degree in political science. She worked odd jobs as a party promoter, in real estate, and bartending before studying film production at New York University Tisch School of the Arts.
In 2010, Zhao's short film Daughters premiered at the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival and won Best Student Live Action Short at the 2010 Palm Springs International ShortFest and Special Jury Prize at the 2010 Cinequest Film Festival.
In 2015, Zhao directed her first feature film, Songs My Brothers Taught Me. Filmed on location at the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota, the film depicts the relationship between a Lakota Sioux brother and his younger sister. The film premiered as part of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at Sundance Film Festival. It later played at Cannes Film Festival as part of the Director's Fortnight selection. The film was nominated for Best First Feature at the 31st Independent Spirit Awards.
In 2017, she directed The Rider, a contemporary western drama which follows a young cowboy's journey to discover himself after a near-fatal accident ends his professional riding career. Similar to her first feature, Zhao utilised a cast of non-actors who lived on the ranch where the film was shot. Zhao's impetus for making the film came when Brady Jandreau - a cowboy whom she met and befriended on the reservation where she shot her first film - suffered a severe head injury when he was thrown off his horse during a rodeo competition. Jandreau later starred in the film playing a fictionalised version of himself as Brady Blackburn. The film premiered at Cannes Film Festival as part of the Directors' Fortnight selection and won the Art Cinema Award. The film earned her nominations for Best Feature and Best Director at the 33rd Independent Spirit Awards. At the same ceremony, Zhao became the inaugural winner of the Bonnie Award, named after Bonnie Tiburzi, which recognizes a mid-career female director. The film was released on April 13, 2018 by Sony Pictures Classics and was critically acclaimed.
In April 2018, it was announced that Amazon Studios greenlit Zhao's upcoming untitled Bass Reeves biopic, a historical Western about the first black U.S. Deputy Marshal. Zhao is set to direct the film and write the screenplay. In September 2018, Marvel Studios hired her to direct a film based on the Eternals.
Self
“Nothing is typical for Werner, only the atypical is typical for him.” This is just one of many attempts to characterize Werner Herzog. Documentary filmmaker Thomas von Steinaecker spoke to actors, directors, directors of photography and producers who have worked with Herzog over his long career—including directors Chloé Zhao, Joshua Oppenheimer and Wim Wenders, singer Patti Smith and actors Nicole Kidman, Christian Bale and Robert Pattinson. We also hear from Herzog himself, with extraordinary anecdotes about film locations and shoots, his admiration for Lotte Eisner, and his eternal search for beauty. The interviews are carefully punctuated by archive footage of Herzog never seen before, iconic excerpts from his feature films and documentaries, and his cameos in cartoon series such as The Simpsons. Together they create a kaleidoscopic image of a radical visionary and dreamer, and of his very own “Werner World.”
Self - Director
Join director Chloe Zhao and the Cast of Eternals as they recount their experiences during the making of Marvel Studios’ most ambitious film to date. Discover how the ensemble cast felt stepping into their roles, filming in remote locations, and creating bonds that would help to create the on-screen relationships that span over 7,000 years.
Director
The Eternals are a team of ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. When an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows, they are forced to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.
Screenplay
The Eternals are a team of ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. When an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows, they are forced to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.
Director
A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the western United States after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
Editor
A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the western United States after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
Producer
A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the western United States after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
Screenplay
A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the western United States after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
Producer
Once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, and a gifted horse trainer, young cowboy Brady is warned that his riding days are over after a horse crushed his skull at a rodeo. In an attempt to regain control of his own fate, Brady undertakes a search for a new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of the United States.
Writer
Once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, and a gifted horse trainer, young cowboy Brady is warned that his riding days are over after a horse crushed his skull at a rodeo. In an attempt to regain control of his own fate, Brady undertakes a search for a new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of the United States.
Director
Once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, and a gifted horse trainer, young cowboy Brady is warned that his riding days are over after a horse crushed his skull at a rodeo. In an attempt to regain control of his own fate, Brady undertakes a search for a new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of the United States.
Editor
This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home.
Producer
This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home.
Writer
This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home.
Director
This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home.
Director
The annual Chinese spring festival dinner gets a little complicated when the family's only son brings home his Senegalese girlfriend.
Producer
When Maple, a quiet 14-year old girl living in rural China, is forced into an arranged marriage, she takes a dangerous path to free herself.
Writer
When Maple, a quiet 14-year old girl living in rural China, is forced into an arranged marriage, she takes a dangerous path to free herself.
Director
When Maple, a quiet 14-year old girl living in rural China, is forced into an arranged marriage, she takes a dangerous path to free herself.
Editor
Helen Thomas is an unhappily married woman. While spending Christmas alone at home, she forms a brief yet passionate relationship with Tarik El Bez, a quiet immigrant worker who comes to fix her computer on a cold December night. Trapped in a small living room, the two loners find themselves engaging in a gentle struggle between intimacy and privacy.
Producer
Helen Thomas is an unhappily married woman. While spending Christmas alone at home, she forms a brief yet passionate relationship with Tarik El Bez, a quiet immigrant worker who comes to fix her computer on a cold December night. Trapped in a small living room, the two loners find themselves engaging in a gentle struggle between intimacy and privacy.
Writer
Helen Thomas is an unhappily married woman. While spending Christmas alone at home, she forms a brief yet passionate relationship with Tarik El Bez, a quiet immigrant worker who comes to fix her computer on a cold December night. Trapped in a small living room, the two loners find themselves engaging in a gentle struggle between intimacy and privacy.
Director
Helen Thomas is an unhappily married woman. While spending Christmas alone at home, she forms a brief yet passionate relationship with Tarik El Bez, a quiet immigrant worker who comes to fix her computer on a cold December night. Trapped in a small living room, the two loners find themselves engaging in a gentle struggle between intimacy and privacy.
Editor
Short film by Chloé Zhao.
Executive Producer
Short film by Chloé Zhao.
Writer
Short film by Chloé Zhao.
Director
Short film by Chloé Zhao.
Producer
A futuristic sci-fi western version of Dracula.
Writer
A futuristic sci-fi western version of Dracula.
Director
A futuristic sci-fi western version of Dracula.
