TSPDT

Key Production Countries: USA, UK
Key Genres: Drama, Tragedy, Adventure Drama, Epic, Period Drama, Science Fiction
Key Collaborators: Mollye Asher (Producer), Joshua James Richards (Cinematographer), Cat Clifford (Character Actor)

"A true cinematic artist, Chloé Zhao makes films unlike anyone else. Graceful, lyrical, keenly intelligent but resolute in their humanist themes, Zhao’s five feature films – 2015’s Songs My Brothers Taught Me, 2017’s The Rider, 2020’s Nomadland, 2021’s Eternals, 2025’s Hamnet – are wildly diverse in terms of setting, subject matter and their style of storytelling, but all united by Zhao’s deliberate, deeply studied brand of filmmaking." - FilmInk, 2026

"Zhao’s films sometimes get slapped with the term docudrama, but that implies a fidelity to actual events, which her works aren’t bound by. They aim not for the on-the-fly feel of nonfiction but the grandeur of the Western, the genre to which they really belong. They juxtapose lyricism and realism, making use of magic-hour light in a way that has netted Zhao comparisons to Terrence Malick. They also demonstrate an endless appreciation for the vastness of American landscapes. " - Alison Willmore (Vulture, 2021)

"Filmmaker Chloé Zhao was born in Beijing, China, as Zhao Ting. She first gained recognition from festival audiences and critics for her early independent films made as a non-American outsider drawn to the characters, stories, and natural landscapes of the American West. Her first feature, Songs My Brothers Taught Me, is a coming-of-age story about Lakota siblings and was developed over the course of four years on the Pine Ridge reservation." - Walker Art Center, 2021

"So far, Chloé Zhao has carved out one of the most compelling careers in contemporary cinema. From her debut feature Songs My Brother Taught Me to her historic Oscar-winning triumph Nomadland, Zhao has consistently built a reputation as a rare filmmaker of empathy and heartfelt vision. Even when handed the mythology of Marvel's Eternals, she stamped it with her signature sensitivity. Mostly focusing on identity, belonging, and human connection, Zhao's filmography offers an interesting journey through the landscapes of human nature." - Daniela Gama (Collider, 2025)

"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." - Reece Goodwin (ACMI, 2026)

"Wherever I go, I am drawn to outsiders because I am one myself. And I feel like an outsider almost wherever I go. Loneliness is a big word for me. There is a difference between loneliness and solitude, for me personally." - Chloé Zhao (The Talks, 2021)