Chloé Zhao on Adapting 'Hamnet', Grief, and the Language of Intuition

Adapting Maggie O'Farrell's 'Hamnet'

• 💡 The film adaptation of Maggie O'Farrell's novel "Hamnet" focuses on world-building and intimate moments of domesticity, connecting characters to nature and the unseen world.
• 🧩 The collaboration between director Chloé Zhao and author Maggie O'Farrell involved a unique process of sending voice notes and ideas, which O'Farrell would then distill into the narrative.
• ⏳ Adapting the novel was described as an hourglass process: distilling the essence of the book and then expanding it through filmmaking, requiring difficult choices about which beautiful scenes to omit.

The Character of Agnes Hathaway

• 🎯 Agnes, played by Jesse Buckley, is portrayed as a woman with special foresight, a deep connection to nature, and a unique, forgotten language.
• 🔮 Zhao and Buckley explored Agnes's