“It’s about a young rodeo rider coping with a near-fatal head injury. In an attempt to regain control of his fate, Brady undertakes a search for new identity and tries to redefine his idea of what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.” Director Chloé Zhao on THE RIDER which screens at the 2018 South By Southwest Conference & Festival.
So how did you get into this business? Talk to me a bit about how you got your start and what you have worked on in the past.
I started when I attended the graduate film program at NYU. I made a couple of short films and my first feature is called “Songs My Brothers Taught Me”.
How did THE RIDER come together from your perspective?
I met the lead actor/inspiration for the film Brady Jandreau a year and half before he suffered his rodeo head injury in April 2016. His story of recovery inspired me to make the film. We made the film in September 2016. We did majority of our post production the next spring and had our world premiere at Cannes in May 2017. We have been screening at festivals since then!
What keeps you going while making a movie? What drives you?
It’s kind of like Hiking. I focus on one step at a time. Just show up to do the work on that day and eventually we always get to the end.
What was your biggest challenge with this project, and the moment that was the most rewarding to you?
Lack of money and support was hard. Watching the cowboys and their families watching themselves on screen for the first time was the best.
I’m about to get technical, but I would love to know about the the visual design of the movie; what camera did you film with and so forth.
THE RIDER was shot on the Alexa Amira. My DP Josh Richards and I work very closely together. We set strict rules for ourselves visually and we don’t stray outside of it.
What are you looking forward to the most about showing your movie here in Austin, and where is it going next?
Brady meeting the audience. After SXSW, the film will be in theaters on April 13, 2018 via Sony Pictures Classics.
If you could show your movie in any theater outside of Austin, where would you screen it and why?
I would screen it at Nunpa Theater on the Pine Ridge Reservation because we made the film there.
What would you say to someone who was being disruptive during a movie, even if it was your own screening?
Probably nothing because I don’t know where to draw the line.
We have a lot of readers on our site looking to make movies or get into the industry somehow. What is the ONE THING you would say to someone who is wanting to get into the filmmaking business?
Show up everyday to do the work. There is no short cut.
And final question: what is the greatest movie you have ever seen?
HAPPY TOGETHER.
THE RIDER is screening at SxSW 2018. For showtimes and more information visit www.sxsw.com!