“Best Documentary”

★★★★

“From a filmmaking perspective, it’s superb.”

A short documentary / experimental music video that describes the surreal flying dream of Chinese amateur aviators. Thoughts in the Wind is a phrase from the Zen Buddhism.

This short documentary from director Xiang Sun blew us away, it felt poignant and dramatic in a way that leaves you in awe of what you’ve seen. It’s a unique and artistic documentary which has its own style that we’ve not seen before. The narrative is well thought out and documents a powerful story without the need of exposition or sit down interviews. We loved it!

Right from the beginning, the music takes grabs hold of you and tells you you’re watching something special. The story is intriguing with plenty of messages behind it and Xiang Sun shows great ability in documenting it in a way that feels different to other documentaries.

The visuals are stunning and captures a side of China which feels raw. The colour grade adds a cinematic and natural look to the film which elevates the production quality. It’s obvious that this was captured by a talented filmmaker.

The introduction to the films subjects is also interesting, in that we don’t have a sit down interview followed by them introducing themselves. Instead, Xiang Sun positions them in rural spots with simple but effective on-screen titles. It works and is something we’re surprised we haven’t seen much before.

The films has a slow build and hits hard half way through the film when the subjects take to the sky. The powerful visuals mixed with the superb music makes for an evocative scene. We highly recommend giving this film a watch if you have the chance. From a filmmaking perspective, it’s superb…

— APEX Film Awards