Get curated editors’ picks, peeks behind the scenes, film recommendations and more.
A refreshingly honest and original ‘American Dream’ story, Here, Hopefully (2023) follows Zee, a nonbinary immigrant from rural China who has recently graduated from a nursing school in the US Midwest. In an intimate portrait, the Chinese director Hao Zhou captures Zee as they study for a licencing exam that will be crucial if they’re to live the gender-affirming life that they seek, far from China’s strict gender norms. Although, as eventually becomes clear, even a high score won’t guarantee them a work visa.
Through observational filmmaking and candid interviews, the film documents Zee as they deal with the loneliness of living far from home and try, against type, to have a bit of fun outside of the grind. Understated cinematography and a fast-paced editing style evoke the anxieties and isolation of Zee’s life, forming a nuanced and sympathetic character study that touches on broader themes of global immigration, gender and mental health. The film is a part of the PBS short film series centred on ‘filmmakers of color from the American Midwest and on narratives that illuminate the living histories, cultures, and future visions of the region’.
Director: Hao Zhou
Producer: Tyler Hill
video
Technology and the self
A filmmaker finds a tactile beauty in the creation of her prosthetic leg
11 minutes
video
War and peace
A war meteorologist’s riveting account of how the Allies averted a D-Day disaster
6 minutes
video
Technology and the self
How the magic of photography brought Victorian England closer to the spirit realm
16 minutes
video
Neuroscience
Dog vision is a trendy topic, but what can we really know about how they see?
11 minutes
video
Information and communication
An animation built from road signs is a whirlwind study of flash communication
2 minutes
video
Art
Creating art that was aware of itself – and the viewer – made Manet the first modernist
15 minutes
video
Biotechnology
It’s our responsibility to engineer corals that can weather the world we’ve created
11 minutes
video
War and peace
A century later, can poetry help us make sense of the First World War’s horrors?
9 minutes
video
Language and linguistics
The little Peruvian guide to public speaking that conjures up a grandiose world
7 minutes