Chloé Zhao shares rare approach to understanding mortality

Chloé Zhao has opened up about her unconventional approach to confronting her fear of death.

In a new interview with The New York Times, the Oscar-winning filmmaker revealed that she is training to become a death doula, a role that supports people through the end-of-life process.

“I just finished Level 1 training in the U.K.,” Zhao shared. 

She explained that part of the course involved studying how different Indigenous cultures around the world approach death and dying, both historically and in the present day.

“In one of the training sessions, we had to research Indigenous cultures from around the world, how they deal with death and dying both today and in the past,” she said.

Reflecting on what stood out most, the Hamnet director noted that while customs and rituals vary widely, the emotional core remains the same. 

“You can see that the grief of losing a loved one doesn’t change,” Zhao explained.

However, she emphasized that society's relationship with death has evolved dramatically over time.

“The societal understanding of death and the space it gives to grief and how it’s embedded in the culture and the medicalisation of death have shifted so much,” she added.

Zhao went on to point out how modern attitudes toward mortality often make the subject uncomfortable or even taboo. 

“In the modern world, when death is no longer seen as a natural part of life — because now it’s about staying alive as long as we can — there’s almost shame around death,” she said.