Hong Chau puts a new spin on the Patty Hearst story in American Woman

Hong Chau is best known for her supporting roles in films like Downsizing and television series like Big Little Lies, but this year she landed her first starring role in a feature film called American Woman. It's about the 1974 kidnapping of American publishing heiress Patty Hearst by a left-wing terrorist group known as the Symbionese Liberation Army (SLA).

One detail that's often left out of the story is that the person hiding Hearst was a radical antiwar activist named Wendy Yoshimura. Chau stars as Yoshimura (called Jenny in the film), with the story being retold from her point-of-view.

Chau joined q's Tom Power during the Toronto International Film Festival to talk about tackling this story with a fresh perspective.

American Woman premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last week and it'll play at the Vancouver International Film Festival on Oct. 4 and 5.

— Produced by ​Vanessa Nigro