Chloé Zhao on grief, death-doula training and making 'Hamnet'

Chloé Zhao, 43, the filmmaker behind Nomadland and five feature films, discussed her career, her latest film Hamnet and her personal preoccupations in a New York Times interview. Hamnet, an adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s novel about the death of Shakespeare’s son, won the Golden Globe for best motion picture, drama and received eight Academy Award nominations, including for best picture and best director.

Zhao described a career that began in independent cinema with nonprofessional actors, then moved from the Oscar-winning Nomadland to the big-budget Marvel film Eternals, which drew mixed critical reception. She said her directing style embraces chaos and collective truth: for Hamnet she described giving actor Jessie Buckley space for “fever writing,” using repeated music on set and allowing unplanned moments — including a guttural scream of grief — to emerge during shooting.

She told the paper she has completed Level 1 death-doula training in the U.K., studied how Indigenous cultures approach death, and has been with people as they died, including her mother. Zhao said her fear of death has limited her ability to love fully, and that she is in a “chrysalis” phase — working to develop a healthier relationship with impermanence so she can live more openly.

Zhao also spoke about awards-season anxieties and the tie she sees between creative rejection and childhood needs for belonging.

Key Topics

Culture, Chloé Zhao, Hamnet, Maggie O'farrell, Jessie Buckley, Golden Globe Awards