The hardscrabble economy of America’s rodeo country, where, for some, riding and winning is the only source of pleasure and income, is depicted with exceptional compassion and truth by a filmmaker who is in no way an insider: Chloé Zhao (Nomadland) was born in Beijing and educated at Mount Holyoke and NYU. Set on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, The Rider is a fiction film that calls on nonprofessional actors to play characters similar to themselves, incorporating their skill sets and experiences. Brady Jandreau is extraordinary as a badly injured former champion rider and horse trainer forced to give up the life he knows and loves. An NYFF55 selection.

“Our favorite kind of independent cinema to watch in a theater. Chloé Zhao has the ability to capture an authenticity that very few filmmakers can, you’ll forget that you’re not watching a documentary, yet it’ll break your heart in the way only a true story can.”—Daniels

Closed captions and audio descriptions are available with our capti-view devices for every screening.