His films like 'Shoplifters' and 'Nobody Knows' explore how marginalized individuals create makeshift families and find belonging in unexpected places despite social isolation.

Through fragmented narratives in films like 'You Were Never Really Here' and 'We Need to Talk About Kevin,' she examines psychological isolation and the failure of human connection.

Her films 'The Rider' and 'Nomadland' intimately portray individuals seeking community and purpose while navigating physical and emotional solitude across vast landscapes.