Dongnan Chen’s Whispers in May is a 92-minute hybrid documentary from China, the Netherlands, South Korea, and Sweden. It will have its world premiere at CPH:DOX on March 15, 2026. The movie mixes real-life footage with improvised stories about 14-year-old Qinghua and her two best friends going on a road trip through the remote Liangshan Mountains in Sichuan province. It shows the painful change from being a child to being a woman, focusing on Qinghua’s first period and the Yi ethnic rite that requires her to get a new skirt.
Chen, who is known for Singing in the Wilderness and short films like 14 Paintings, makes a “time capsule” and a “dream running parallel to reality” that goes beyond what is normal for girls in China. Zhao, the producer, talks about how Chen focuses on small, fleeting moments after her first period, even though it’s hard for independent female directors in China. The spontaneous style lets the main characters really get into their roles, turning the journey into a spiritual fable.
CPH:DOX, The main DOX:Award competition at Copenhagen’s biggest documentary event is Whispers in May. Labs like First Documentary Lab (China), TokyoDocs, DMZ, and IDFA Bertha Fund have all backed the film. People like how it poetically looks at the end of youth against a backdrop of natural beauty and heartfelt talks about dreams.
