“Hamnet”, interview with the director Chloé Zhao

At the 20th edition of the Rome Film Fest, the director Chloé Zhao presented her latest work, “Hamnet”, in a heartfelt conversation about art, grief, and the metamorphosis of the human spirit. Adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel, “Hamnet” revisits the emotional landscape behind Shakespeare’s Hamlet, exploring the timeless cycle of love and death, and how creation can rise from loss.

From Loss to Oneness

When asked about the recurring themes in her work, Zhao reflected on her cinematic journey: “The first three films I made were very much about loss and people losing their sense of identity. But then the last two, Eternals and Hamnet, deal with grief differently. Ultimately, Hamnet is about metamorphosis.”

For Zhao, “Hamnet” represents a new creative stage — one where separation dissolves into unity. “It’s about the capacity to alchemize human experiences from one extreme to another, and to get to a place of oneness. All living things must die, passing through nature to eternity — and in this case, through art.”

This philosophical approach defines Zhao’s vision: art as a bridge between the material and the spiritual, between suffering and transcendence.

The Void and the Cycle of Rebirth

Throughout “Hamnet”, imagery of darkness and renewal resonates deeply — from the black void of grief to the rebirth through art. “Everything… there is life after death. It’s a cycle. The void is waiting for you, but from there life comes again. It’s like compost,” Zhao says with quiet conviction.

Her reflections draw a direct link between human pain and natural regeneration — death as the fertile ground of transformation. This recurring idea permeates “Hamnet”, from its shadowed forests to the Globe Theatre.

The Healing Power of Creativity

During the interview, Zhao spoke about how art can save and transform: “I’ve lived through the alchemical power of creativity. It heals my psyche, it pulls me out of deep grief and loss, gives meaning to my pain, and it grew me spiritually.”

She challenges the romantic notion that artists must suffer to create: “I really do not agree that artists have to be in pain to create. That’s a myth. The inside has to come first. The work is the inner work.”

For Zhao, filmmaking is not an act of control, but of surrender — a dialogue between the unconscious and the divine.

A Collective Grief, a Shared Catharsis

The director recalls filming the film’s most devastating sequence — Agnes’s scream after losing her child, performed by a stunning Jessie Buckley: “That scream… it’s collective grief coming out of her. Our ancestors knew how to express emotions through the body — they wailed, they danced, they screamed. We’ve forgotten that.”

Zhao’s method channels this ancient energy into cinema: “If I don’t experience catharsis myself while making the film, then there is no catharsis for the audience. I have to live it too.”

Her filmmaking becomes an act of emotional truth, mirroring the cycles of nature and myth.

Witchcraft, Intuition, and the Feminine

When discussing the mystical aura surrounding “Hamnet”, Zhao connects feminine intuition with ancient forms of storytelling: “Witchcraft really is just having great sensitivities and trying to listen instead of speak. It’s about listening to what your environment is trying to say through you.”

This, she adds, is the balance she seeks in all her films — between chaos and order, spirit and matter, freedom and containment.

Art as Alchemy

In Zhao’s own words, “Hamnet” is a story of metamorphosis: “Love doesn’t die; it transforms. It is the greatest metamorphosis in this universe.”

As she prepares to bring “Hamnet” to audiences worldwide, Zhao continues to redefine what cinema can be — a space where grief becomes grace, and storytelling becomes alchemy.

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