A refreshingly sincere and authentic ‘American Dream’ story, Right here, Hopefully (2023) follows Zee, a nonbinary immigrant from rural China who has lately graduated from a nursing college within the US Midwest. In an intimate portrait, the Chinese language director Hao Zhou captures Zee as they examine for a licencing examination that shall be essential in the event that they’re to stay the gender-affirming life that they search, removed from China’s strict gender norms. Though, as finally turns into clear, even a excessive rating gained’t assure them a piece visa.
By means of observational filmmaking and candid interviews, the movie paperwork Zee as they take care of the loneliness of dwelling removed from residence and check out, in opposition to kind, to have a little bit of enjoyable exterior of the grind. Understated cinematography and a fast-paced enhancing model evoke the anxieties and isolation of Zee’s life, forming a nuanced and sympathetic character examine that touches on broader themes of worldwide immigration, gender and psychological well being. The movie is part of the PBS brief movie sequence centred on ‘filmmakers of shade from the American Midwest and on narratives that illuminate the dwelling histories, cultures, and future visions of the area’.
