Chloé Zhao – Filmmaker – Songs My Brothers Taught Me

FRED’s Matt Micucci meets filmmaker Chloé Zhao, whose film Songs My Brothers Taught Me had its international premiere at the Quinzaine des Réalisateurs at the 68th Cannes Film Festival.

Chloé Zhao tells us all about her role for Pine Ridge, where her film is set, and why she decided to make a film there.

We also discuss with her the representation of modern Native Americans in contemporary cinema, and the many themes which are dealt with in Songs My Brothers Taught Me.

Songs My Brothers Taught Me is also the feature directorial debut of Chloé Zhao, so we take the opportunity to ask her what it was like to make a first feature and about the different difficulties she encountered in making it.

SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME: Songs My Brothers Taught Me is a compelling and complex portrait of modern day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation that explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home.

Chloé Zhao sensitively infiltrates isolated Indian Country to offer a rare, modern gaze keenly felt through the eyes of her magnetic non-professional lead actors, providing a universally resonant tale set amid the magnificent, promising wild of young generation Lakotas.