Nomadland

Following the economic collapse of a company town in rural Nevada, Fern packs her van and sets off on the road exploring a life outside of conventional society as a modern-day nomad. Nomadland features real nomads Linda May, Swankie and Bob Wells as Fern’s mentors and comrades in her exploration through the vast landscape of the American West.

In fall 2018, while filming Nomadland in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, near the frozen field of a beet harvest, I flipped through Edward Abbey’s Desert Solitaire—a book given to me by someone I met on the road. I came upon this quote: “Men come and go, cities rise and fall, whole civilizations appear and disappear—the earth remains, slightly modified. The earth remains, and the heartbreaking beauty where there are no hearts to break... I sometimes choose to think, no doubt perversely, that man is a dream, thought an illusion, and only rock is real. Rock and sun.” For the next four months, nomads came and went as we traveled and filmed—many kept rocks from their wanderings, their home on wheels powered by the sun. They left stories and wisdom in front and behind the camera. Having grown up in the cities of China and England, I’ve always been deeply drawn to the open road—an idea I find to be quintessentially American—the endless search for what’s beyond the horizon. I tried to capture a glimpse of it in this movie, knowing it’s not possible to truly describe the American road to another person. One has to discover it on one’s own.

PRODUCTION 1: Chloé Zhao - Highwayman Films
c/o Searchlight Pictures
90064 – Los Angeles, United States of America
Tel. +1 310-369-8854
roya.vakili@searchlightpictures.com

PRODUCTION 2: Frances McDormand - Hear/Say Productions
c/o Searchlight Pictures
90064 – Los Angeles, United States of America
Tel. +1 310-369-8854
roya.vakili@searchlightpictures.com

PRODUCTION 3: Peter Spears - Cor Cordium Production
c/o Searchlight Pictures
90064 – Los Angeles, United States of America
Tel. +1 310-369-8854
roya.vakili@searchlightpictures.com

PRODUCTION 4: Mollye Asher, Dan Janvey
c/o Searchlight Pictures
90064 – Los Angeles, United States of America
Tel. +1 310-369-8854
roya.vakili@searchlightpictures.com

ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION: Simone Raineri - The Walt Disney Company Italia / Searchlight Pictures
Via Ferrante Aporti 6/8
20125 – Milano, Italy
Tel. +39 02 2908 5319
simone.raineri@disney.com

ITALIAN PRESS OFFICE: Simone Raineri - The Walt Disney Company Italia / Searchlight Pictures
Via Ferrante Aporti 6/8
20125 – Milano, Italy
Tel. +39 02 2908 5319
simone.raineri@disney.com

PRESS OFFICE:Premier
NOMADLAND@premiercomms.com