Zhao: "I constantly modify myself. There are downfalls to that because you are constantly trying to figure out who you are, but at the same time, I'm blessed with the lack of base paint on the canvas."

Zhao: "I often feel like an outsider wherever I go, so I'm always attracted to stories about identity and the meaning of home."

Zhao: "Unfortunately, I think I drifted so much growing up that I don't have a strong sense of identity. I don't feel at home anywhere, and because of that, I think I'm more of a chameleon."

Zhao: "A documentary film-maker can't help but use poetry to tell the story. I bring truth to my fiction. These things go hand in hand."

Zhao: "It's very important for feminism for us to tell our daughters that they should be strong. But to tell our sons that they can be vulnerable, to have these characters on screen that are not perfectly masculine cowboys that never fail, for our boys to change their psyche as well, that's equally important for feminism."

Zhao: "Coming from a country that's rapidly changing, I love the idea of a place like South Dakota where nothing has really changed."

Zhao: "Some of the most hard-working, generous people I've met in my whole life didn't really want to vote for him but did. My calling is to step onto the other side and humanise and portray the struggles of many Trump voters."

Zhao: "I want to make more films in the heartland, the forgotten America."

Zhao: "I would love to return to China one day to make films. I've been away for too long, so I'll need to spend some time back home before I can come up with an idea."

Zhao: "It's important to make time for yourself."

Zhao: "I'm constantly not on the right side of history. I sympathize with the soldiers in the enemy's camp. For example in WWII, we know the Nazis and the Japanese were wrong. But I sympathize with the individual story of a soldier who was drafted into that."

Zhao: "The Indian cowboy is such a uniquely American contradiction."

Zhao: "I was born and raised in China, Mandarin is my first language, and I definitely know America. I think that will be my strength, to try and bring the two worlds together."