Nomadland
Director: Chloe Zhao Run Time: 107 min. Rating: R Release Year: 2021
Starring: Frances McDormand, Gay DeForest, Linda May, Patricia Grier
Country: United States
Language: English
Screening as part of a Chloé Zhao retrospective.
“Nomadland feels like gazing out on one long, gorgeous sunset…the movie is a marvel of empathy and introspection.”
– Peter Debruge, Variety
About the film:
Chloé Zhao’s third feature film.
The first film to win top prize at both the Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals also earned Zhao numerous industry awards, including Best Picture and Best Director at the 93rd Academy Awards with Frances McDormand earning Best Actress.
After losing everything in the Great Recession, Fern embarks on a journey through the American West, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad. Real-life nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells act as Fern’s mentors and comrades as she explores a life outside of conventional society.
Guided by Jessica Bruder’s 2017 non-fiction book “Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century,” Director Chloe Zhao, Academy Award-winner Frances McDormand (as “Fern”), and a small team travelled across seven states over a five-month period to film their experiential masterpiece.
“People ask me how do you work with non-professional actors?… You listen, really, really carefully for what they are really trying to say about themselves…If you’re truthful and you’re authentic and you’re going there trying to relate to another human being as a human being, no hidden agenda, they will feel it.”
– Chloé Zhao for Searchlight Pictures
Hear more about the unique filming of Nomadland from Zhao and McDormand in conversation with TIFF.
Previously screened on April 22, 2021 as part of Awards Season Weekend at the Center.
See our upcoming films See more from Chloé Zhao