Young Chinese filmmaker Shuli Huang has made an extremely personal essay film. In Will You Look At Me, he confronts his own mother with her disapproval of his sexual identity as gay. In the film, exploring their family history runs parallel with better understanding his own identity; the film moves both forward and backward in time.

Ultimately, Huang seeks, and perhaps craves, something that cannot be filmed: his mom's recognition. During the film's emotional catharsis, it becomes most apparent that the invisible gaze to which the title refers is impossible to visualise. But the path toward it is definitely captivating.

The tragic yet hopeful film won the Queer Palm at Cannes last year and was also lauded by juries at Sundance and Clermont-Ferrand. A beautiful work, full of pain and poetry.