{"id":492127,"date":"2025-10-11T23:00:18","date_gmt":"2025-10-11T23:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/492127\/"},"modified":"2025-10-11T23:00:18","modified_gmt":"2025-10-11T23:00:18","slug":"chloe-zhao-steven-spielberg-and-hamnet-cast-at-london-film-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/492127\/","title":{"rendered":"Chlo\u00e9 Zhao, Steven Spielberg and ‘Hamnet’ Cast at London Film Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tOscar-winning director Chlo\u00e9 Zhao had her London Film Festival audience completely zen ahead of the U.K. premiere of Hamnet<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Nomadland and Eternals filmmaker was introduced by Hollywood heavyweight Steven Spielberg \u2014 a co-producer on the movie through Amblin Entertainment \u2014 ahead of the screening at London\u2019s Royal Festival Hall on Saturday. The gut-wrenching period drama follows Paul Mescal<\/a> as William Shakespeare and Jessie Buckley<\/a> as his wife, Agnes, thrown into contrasting experiences of grief following the death of their young son, Hamnet.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen you see this, I have to just explain one thing,\u201d the Jaws and E.T. director began. \u201cI really believe that the earth has a heartbeat. It\u2019s a 24\/7 seismic cycle and it\u2019s true. All of us are connected to this heartbeat which happens right under our feet, but Chlo\u00e9 Zhao has connected to it in a profound way because it\u2019s where her art comes from. It\u2019s what she plugs into. It\u2019s what she brings to the set every day. It\u2019s what she anoints and brings to her cast every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAnd I really believe that when you see Hamnet,\u201d continued Spielberg, \u201cyou\u2019ll be able to feel the seismic heartbeat of the earth because of Chlo\u00e9 Zhao.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tZhao entered the theater to raucous applause and spoke spiritually about the making of Hamnet, a film she co-wrote with Northern Irish writer Maggie O\u2019Farrell based on O\u2019Farrell\u2019s 2020 novel of the same name.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI feel immense gratitude because today we finally bring Hamnet home,\u201d said the Chinese creative, visibly emotional. \u201cMaking this film on this island with this village has given me a deep, deep feeling of belonging, of community, of safety, and I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever experienced it before. And it helped me through a very difficult time in my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

“When you see #Hamnet<\/a>, you’ll be able to feel the seismic heartbeat of the earth because of Chlo\u00e9 Zhao.”<\/p>\n

Steven Spielberg makes a surprise appearance at the London Film Festival to introduce Chlo\u00e9 Zhao and ‘Hamnet’. #LFF25<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/4ynKkhGEp8<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 The Hollywood Reporter (@THR) October 11, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\n\tAfter she had finished speaking, silence fell across the room as Zhao led a meditative session with the thousands of audience members \u2014\u00a0as well as Mescal, Buckley and producer Sam Mendes on stage \u2014 who breathed in and out, palms to chest in rhythm with the director. She did the same ahead of the movie\u2019s TIFF outing last month.<\/p>\n

\n\tMescal caught up with The Hollywood Reporter on the carpet ahead of the screening. \u201cThank God that we were both in Telluride at the same time,\u201d said Mescal about meeting Zhao, who told THR at TIFF that she could only envision making Hamnet once she\u2019d met the Irish talent.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI loved the book so much,\u201d the Gladiator II and Aftersun actor added. \u201cAnd [Telluride] was one of those times where I shamelessly was putting myself in position for a film,\u201d he confessed. \u201cI was like, \u2018I really think this would work,\u2019 and I\u2019m very glad that Chlo\u00e9 agreed to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOn the swift awards buzz that the movie has garnered out of screenings at Telluride and TIFF (THR\u2018s current standings have both leads as frontrunners for Oscar nominations<\/a>), Mescal said: \u201cIt\u2019s something that\u2019s out of your hands when you\u2019re making it, but it does correlate to something. I\u2019t\u2019s correlating to an appetite for audiences to want to talk about it. And what will be will be,\u201d he continued, \u201cbut I\u2019m definitely proud that people are recognising the film that we made and not seeing a different film. That\u2019s always the great fear.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThe BFI London Film Festival<\/a> 2025 runs Oct. 8-19.<\/p>\n