ZI Trailer: Michelle Mao & Haley Lu Richardson Star in Koganada’s Poetic New Drama
A year after going the big-budget filmmaking route with A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, Koganada is going back to his indie roots with a more spontaneous and experimental drama. The Columbus and After Yang director returned to Sundance earlier this year with his fourth feature, zi, which he directed in secret from his own script. Shot on location in Hong Kong, the drama follows a troubled young woman (Michelle Mao) who forges a connection with a stranger (Haley Lu Richardson, in her third collaboration with Koganada), changing the course of her life over a day. Koganada also produced the film alongside Richardson, Mao, and co-star Jin Ha. Grasshopper Film has released the official trailer ahead of its release at NYC’s Metrograph on November 6 for a one-week exclusive run.
As the official synopsis reads:
In Hong Kong, a young violinist named Zi (Michelle Mao) struggles with her memory while enigmatic visions of her future self haunt her. She meets a stranger named Elle (Haley Lu Richardson), whom she recognizes from these visions. Together, they spend the day walking Hong Kong’s streets and are soon joined by Min (Jin Ha), a researcher at the local neurology center. As the day turns to night and night turns to dawn, Zi must reconcile the increasingly overlapping realities of her past, present, and future selves. The latest feature from Kogonada, the acclaimed director of After Yang and Columbus, zi is a beguiling meditation on memory, time, and human connection.
Check out the trailer and poster below.
