'There is fact, but there's also metaphor': Chloé Zhao on how The Rider gets at truth through fiction

The old Hollywood archetype of a cowboy is usually a reckless and confident "man's man." Even when they're in danger, they always come out the other end with barely a scratch. That's not the case in Chloé Zhao's new film, The Rider. The film tells the story of Brady Jandreau, a young rodeo cowboy in the Badlands of South Dakota, who is struggling with the trauma from a head injury. He has stitches and a metal plate in his head, and can't ride and train horses like he used to. Based on a true story, The Rider straddles the line between documentary and fiction. Last fall, Zhao stopped by the q studio during the Toronto International Film Festival to discuss how complicated and rewarding it can be to make docufiction, and why the format might be a better vehicle for truth than we think.

The Rider had its North American wide release on Friday, April 27. 

— Produced by Elaine Chau