In a conversation at the London Film Festival on Sunday, Oscar-winning director Chloé Zhao spoke candidly about Hollywood, the challenges of getting film financing, how nervous venting affects her storytelling, and more.
Chao’s shocking historical drama Hamnet, starring Paul Mescal and Jesse Buckley and about the personal tragedy that led to the creation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, had its European premiere at the festival on Saturday night and was greeted with plenty of emotion (and a surprise appearance from producer Steven Spielberg). Speaking about making the film, Chao said the experience “made me very passionate about rediscovering and remembering old ways of storytelling that have been forgotten in our society.”
“Before we made everything factual and rational, there was a time when we looked at stories in different ways: exploring dreams and visions, going into nature and listening to the birds,” she said. “So, to me, the word ambiguity is extremely important to the health of society. And I don’t think even Hollywood and the film industry are very good at preserving the word ambiguity. If logos and mystery were in harmony, we’d be living in a better world.”
However, Chao acknowledged that it is often difficult to raise funds to bring such stories to the big screen. Although making a profit from the film is not her ultimate goal, the filmmaker admitted that “money is really important.”
“Maybe it’s because I’m Chinese. I don’t know what it is, but I’m very afraid of borrowing money from people. I don’t like that. I don’t like being in debt. I want the people who spent money on my movies to get their money back,” Chao said. “I don’t believe that my vision or the importance of my films should cause people to lose out. That’s not for me. I try very hard to get the capitalists and the studios to say it’s OK to spend as much as I want to survive as a company, and then I’ll do it within those limits. So I think this really helps because I promise limits are your best friend.”
At the end of her talk, Chao was asked by an audience member how being neurodivergent influences her creativity in storytelling, and she proudly answered: “I think this is a superpower, I really do.”
“I think we’re all on a spectrum of something. Everyone’s brain is so different, so unique, a combination of nature and upbringing. And sometimes I wonder: Am I atypical, or is our world becoming a little too inhospitable? Too loud, too bright, too fast?” she continued. “So I try not to think of it as inferior or different, but I do think that if I focus on how I function, I can create a healthy world for me, not just on camera, but off camera. And the people who are drawn to me like me that way, so maybe they enjoy it too.”
“Respecting your own needs first is really important and actually a good service to society, because that may be exactly what your environment needs as well.”
“Hamnet” had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival last month to great acclaim, generating Oscar buzz and winning the People’s Choice Award at TIFF. Chief film critic Peter DeBrugge wrote in a review for Variety that the film was “emotionally raw and at times excruciating.”
Chao broke out in the 2020 drama Nomadland, starring Frances McDormand, which won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Director. With her win in the directing category, Zhao became the first woman of color to win in this category. Hamnet will be her latest film after directing the 2021 Marvel film The Eternals.
“Hamnet” will be released in limited theaters by Focus Features in the U.S. and Canada starting November 27th, followed by a nationwide release on December 12th. It will be released in the UK on January 9th through Universal Pictures.
