Oscar-Winning Filmmaker Chloé Zhao Visits LMU

Loyola Marymount University's School of Film and Television welcomed Academy Award-winning filmmaker Chloé Zhao to campus for a screening of her latest film, "Hamnet," followed by a conversation with producer, former Academy President and LMU Presidential Fellow Janet Yang.

Zhao, one of a handful of women to ever win the Academy Award for Best Director, is known for films including "Nomadland," "Eternals," and "Hamnet." Yang, an acclaimed producer and former president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, serves as the SFTV Presidential Fellow and clinical professor at LMU, exemplifying the university's teacher-scholar model.

First, the writer-director led the LMU audience, fresh off the screening of her emotional film about love and grief, in a somatic exercise she said helps one return to the present moment.

"I just want to check in for a second," Zhao said, before leading the audience in a scream, a sigh, some shaking and breathwork. "How are you? How's your body feeling right now?"

With five feature films under her belt at age 44, Zhao said she spent her twenties and early thirties exploring horizontally - around the world and taking in external influences. The shift, she said, came later, when she began looking inward.

"Now the exploration is going to become vertical. Horizontal - it's done," Zhao said. "This is when you start descending to yourself. That inner landscape is where the truest answers are," she said. "The answer is never outside."

A major theme of "Hamnet" is lead character Agnes' (portrayed by Jessie Buckley) connection to nature, something Zhao spoke about being close to her heart.

"Because in nature, you know you're more yourself," she said. "When you're in nature, that illusion of separation goes away. And if you can feel that oneness with everything around you, then fear goes away."

Despite calling filmmaking a "quest" and discussing the unfolding mystery of the process of creating a piece of cinematic art, Zhao was unequivocal about one lesson she learned early in her career: always use a script.

"Working without a script, even just a treatment - don't ever do that," she said. "When you go into the edit, you realize you didn't shoot the scene you need to get from one moment to the next."

She also emphasized that certain conventions in filmmaking help set the stage, and can be done creatively even if they are common. "Establishing shots don't have to be boring," Zhao said.

Zhao said her directing philosophy centers on keeping energy aligned on set.

"If your crew isn't vibrating at the same level, your whole environment is going to tune to you," she said. "Check in with yourself first. Feeling disconnected from your body is the antithesis of making art."

During the Q&A, graduate student JJ House asked about the role of remembrance in Zhao's art.

"Art and storytelling are rituals," Zhao said. "They're the tools we use to connect with something larger than ourselves. Art is the birthright of every human being."

Another graduate student Terri Diao. asked about surrender and creative uncertainty.

"The feminine principle is facing mystery," Zhao said, returning to a concept she repeated throughout the night that the balance of her storytelling comes between linear logic and emotion which tends to be more of a spiral. "You need both. We don't have tools to sit in the tension," she added. "But those tools can be learned."

The event offered LMU students the opportunity to engage directly with an internationally recognized filmmaker through the university's proximity to Hollywood and its deep connections to the film industry. With Yang moderating as both an industry leader and LMU faculty member, the evening highlighted the School of Film and Television's commitment to experiential learning and mentorship.