The story in the new film ‘The Rider’ unfolds on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. There, horse trainer and one-time rodeo star Brady Blackburn is trying to make his way after a potentially career-ending riding accident. Brady Blackburn is played by real Lakota cowboy Brady Jandreau, who suffered the same horrible head injury seen in the film while competing in a rodeo in 2016. Jandreau was discovered by Chinese director Chloé Zhao--this is her second film shot at Pine Ridge. Zhao also cast Jandreau's father, autistic sister and a handful of friends and in the film. Jandreau and Zhao tell us about making ‘The Rider’ with a tiny amount of money, and the schedule they worked out that allowed Jandreau to train horses in the morning and film in the afternoons.
Director Chloé Zhao & star Brady Jandreau on ‘The Rider’
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