[Commlist] CfP: ReFocus: The Films of Chloé Zhao

CALL FOR PAPERS
*ReFocus: The Films of Chloé Zhao (Edinburgh University Press)*
_Chief Editors: Tim Lindemann and Alice Pember_

Deadline: *January 23, 2026*
*_
_*
 From her early indie features and the Oscar-winning 
/Nomadland/ (2020), to MCU-entry /Eternals/ (2021) and her latest 
project, the Steven Spielberg-produced adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell’s 
novel /Hamnet /(2025), Chloé Zhao’s filmography intersects with a 
variety of pressing concerns in contemporary transnational film culture 
and scholarship. On the one hand, Zhao, a Chinese immigrant to the US, 
may be considered part of the US film industry’s rising interest in East 
Asian talent, alongside filmmakers like Lulu Wang and Celine Song. At 
the same time, Zhao’s films are deeply American: they emerge out of the 
long-standing traditions of regional US independent cinema and 
comic-book-based blockbuster franchises, as well as engaging with 
traditionally American genres like the Western and the road movie and 
their associated spaces.
Zhao’s career exemplifies boundary-crossing in every sense, 
geographically, aesthetically and industrially, whilst exposing the 
limits historically placed on female filmmakers, especially those 
operating between and across national borders. In light of the critical 
anticipation surrounding Zhao’s forthcoming adaptation of /Hamnet/, this 
anthology seeks to address Zhao’s status as an important voice in 
transnational and women’s cinema, asking how her filmmaking practice 
reframes questions of mobility, identity and authorship.
We are currently soliciting abstracts of approximately 250—300 words for 
essays to be included in a book-length anthology on Zhao to appear in 
2027. As the first anthology dedicated to a comprehensive study of 
Zhao’s career, this collection seeks to engage with transnationality and 
hybridity, the role of identity and representation as well as space and 
politics in her work. We encourage interdisciplinary approaches spanning 
film and literary studies, adaptation theory, feminist criticism, 
transnational cultural studies and industry analysis.
Possible areas of inquiry could include, but are not limited to:

  *
    *Authorship*: Zhao’s style and aesthetics; her career in light of
    current Sino-US relations in media; questions of genre (Western,
    road movie, superheroes, etc.); Chinese responses to her success and
    criticism of China, feminist approaches to authorship

  *
    *Performance*: star studies approaches (McDormand, Jolie, Nanjiani,
    etc.) versus performances by non-professional actors; ethics of
    non-professional performances by indigenous actors

  *
    *Reception/Fandom*: global Marvel fandom reactions to /Eternals/;
    discourse surrounding “indie vs mainstream”/Indiewood

  *
    *Space/Landscape*: Zhao’s films as rural cinema; the Native
    reservation as a transnational, post-colonial space

  *
    *Precarity*: /Nomadland/ and the global gig economy; feminist and
    queer approaches to precarity in Zhao’s films

  *
    *Adaptation: */Eternals/ as comic book adaptation; feminist
    authorship and adaptation in /Hamnet; /adaptation, transnational
    cinema and autofiction

  * *Film-Philosophy: *Philosophical and ethical approaches to Zhao’s
    aesthetics, inc. Daoism, transcendentalism, feminist philosophical
    approaches (phenomenology, care ethics, etc.), non-anthropocentric
    philosophy (vegan cinema, eco-criticism, etc.)

Essays included in the refereed anthology will be of approximately 6,000 
to 8,000 words, referenced in /Chicago /endnote style, with American 
spelling and grammar.
_Full chapter drafts are expected by Summer 2026 with a more detailed 
timeline to follow._
/The Films of Chloé Zhao /will be published by the University of 
Edinburgh Press in their series of anthologies examining American film 
directors (ReFocus). Series editors are Robert Singer, Gary D. Rhodes, 
Alicia Kozma, and Frances Smith. Previous editions include /The Films of 
Richard Linklater/, /The/ /Films of Amy Heckerling/, and /The Films of 
Mary Harron/. Please attach a brief /curriculum vitae /to your abstract 
and email all documents directly to the anthology’s editors:
**
*Dr Tim Lindemann *
Lecturer in Film and Media Studies
School of Film, Media, and Creative Technologies
University of Portsmouth
(_Tim.lindemann /at/ port.ac.uk) <mailto:(Tim.lindemann /at/ port.ac.uk)>_

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