SXSW 2013: The Rider

Brady Jandreau as Brady Blackburn in THE RIDER. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

If writer-director Chloé Zhao isn’t a household name, it certainly will be after a docudrama, The Rider, reaches a wider audience.

Brady Blackburn (Brady Jandreau) was going to be a star of the rodeo one day.  Unfortunately for him, he suffered from a riding accident while competing and ends up in a coma for a few days.  For Brady, it means that his days of competing are over.  For any rider, it’s a sad day to say goodbye to your career.  It also means that the needs to find something to live for now that his dreams are shattered.  There’s no winning in his situations.

Zhao is a director to keep your eye on as she continues her career.  She takes Brady Jandreau’s story and rather than film a documentary, she builds a drama around it.  The film is personal for Brady as his sister, Lilly, and father, Tim, have co-starring roles as his family members.

Instead of releasing The Rider in 2017, distributor Sony Classics has opted for a 2018 release.  As tends to be the case ever so often, the limited release will come as another film dealing with a teenager and a horse will have just opened up in theaters.

DIRECTOR/SCREENWRITER:  Chloé Zhao
CAST:  Brady Jandreau, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau, Lane Scott, Cat Clifford

Having premiered at 2017 Cannes Film Festival, The Rider was selected for the 2018 SXSW Film Festival as a part of the Festival Favorites program.  Sony Classics will open the film in New York and Los Angeles on April 13, 2018 before a theatrical expansion.

Danielle Solzman

Danielle Solzman is native of Louisville, KY, and holds a BA in Public Relations from Northern Kentucky University and a MA in Media Communications from Webster University. She roots for her beloved Kentucky Wildcats, St. Louis Cardinals, Indianapolis Colts, and Boston Celtics. Living less than a mile away from Wrigley Field in Chicago, she is an active reader (sports/entertainment/history/biographies/select fiction) and involved with the Chicago improv scene. She also sees many movies and reviews them. She has previously written for Redbird Rants, Wildcat Blue Nation, and Hidden Remote/Flicksided. From April 2016 through May 2017, her film reviews can be found on Creators.

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