Whispers in May is a captivating documentary-fiction hybrid film that explores the transition from girlhood to womanhood through the eyes of three Chinese girls on a road trip. The film's unique blend of documentary and improvisation creates a magical journey that feels both real and fantastical. The director, Dongnan Chen, met Qihuo, one of the girls, on a trip to Liangshan and was immediately drawn to her story. Qihuo's deepest wish was to leave home and see the world, and Chen's film captures this desire through a road trip that becomes a metaphor for the girls' journey into adulthood. The film's hybrid form allows for a beautiful blur between reality and fiction, with the girls playing themselves and co-creating their own adventure. This approach empowers the girls to be the authors of their own stories, both within the film and beyond. The film's title, Whispers in May, is a play on the Nuosu title, May, Hidden, and the film's May premiere. The title also captures the gentle, small sounds of the wind through the mountain flowers and the girls' voices, creating a sensory experience that mirrors the film's exploration of hidden desires and the transition from girlhood to womanhood. Chen's next project is a hybrid narrative feature about a woman who tries to preserve her hometown through a camera, exploring the fragility of storytelling in an image-saturated world.
