Summary: Chloé Zhao (writer/director), Brady Jandreau (actor), Joshua James Richards (cinematographer) and Alex O'Flinn (editor) at The Landmark in West Los Angeles. Moderated by Peter Debruge (Variety). Film synopsis: Talented young rodeo rider and horse trainer Brady Blackburn (Brady Jandreau) suffered a severe head wound when a horse badly crushed his skull at a rodeo and put him in a three-day coma. His doctors have told him he must quit riding, at the risk of his life, but as Brady recuperates at his family’s rundown ranch he wrestles with whether or not he can give up riding, the thing he loves most, that defines his life. In an attempt to regain control of his fate, Brady undertakes a search for new identity, trying to redefine his idea of what it means to be a man in the heartland of America. Quiet and rugged, newcomer Jandreau is a magnetic screen presence. The beautiful wide-open South Dakota landscape is lovingly photographed by Joshua James Richards, cinematographer of God’s Own Country. Writer/director Chloé Zhao (Songs My Brother Taught Me) has based the heartfelt, emotionally powerful story on Jandreau’s own life, casting other members of the Jandreau family (father Tim and little sister Lilly) playing versions of themselves. Nominated for 5 Independent Spirit Awards, including Best Picture. Winner of the CICAE Art Cinema Award at the Cannes Film Festival.
