Directed by Huang Shuli, Will You Look At Me is a deeply personal short film that premiered in the 75th Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week and was awarded the Queer Palm for Best Short Film.

The documentary captures a young gay man’s return to his hometown of Wenzhou after studying abroad in New York. Through the lens of his camera, he seeks a conversation that has long been buried within — a confrontation with his mother about his sexuality, about identity, about distance, and longing.
Will You Look At Me Official Trailer
Will You Look At Me Summary | |
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Title: | Will You Look At Me |
Movies Info: | China (2022) |
Length: | 20 minutes |
Genre: | Drama / short film / Boy's love |
Plot
Returning from New York, the director begins filming moments of everyday life in his hometown. The camera becomes a shield and a bridge — documenting surroundings, memories, his mother’s routines, and most importantly, their conversations. As sound and image drift apart, we hear intimate exchanges between mother and son that reveal love, disappointment, cultural expectations, and grief.

His mother refers to him as a “monster,” mourns the son she thought she had, and tries to rationalize his queerness as a deviation or a misstep. Yet through these painful confessions, what emerges is a desperate search for understanding — and perhaps forgiveness. The bus that passes between them during their final gaze is more than a vehicle; it is a symbol of the gap between generations, values, and identities.
Will You Look At Me Cast
Charactor

The filmmaker and protagonist. As both director and subject, Huang documents his return home, his struggle with identity, and his heartfelt yet painful conversations with his mother.
Director

Huang Shuli
Huang Shuli, born in 1997, graduated from Beijing Film Academy and later studied film at New York University. He worked as cinematographer on Stonewalling, Dwelling by the West Lake, and All Ears. This short film was originally shot during casual home recordings in Wenzhou, before organically evolving into a queer documentary.The film reflects a broader conversation in Chinese LGBTQ+ cinema, where queer identity is often navigated through familial and cultural confrontation, rather than social activism.
Will You Look At Me Review
Review




A Queer Private Image
Will You Look At Me is part of a lineage of queer cinema that prioritizes personal truth over narrative convention. Unlike feature films like Farewell My Concubine, this is a whisper rather than a proclamation. The film employs a minimalist, poetic structure — relying on Super 8 footage, voiceover, and fragmentary imagery to evoke memory, tension, and silence.
Rather than framing coming out as a singular event, it unspools it as a process — uneven, ongoing, and quietly devastating. It’s not just about being gay; it’s about being unable to be seen by one’s own family. About being loved conditionally.
The director never attacks his mother. Instead, he allows her voice to coexist with his own. Even when she lashes out, the visuals often cut to her youthful face, or a quiet domestic moment. This duality — hurt and affection — runs throughout the film and makes it universally resonant.
Will You Look At Me Information
Festival Recognition
Cannes Film Festival (Critics’ Week, 2022) – Queer Palm, Best Short Film
Sundance Film Festival – Short Film Jury Award: Non-Fiction
Hong Kong International Film Festival – Firebird Award (Short Film Competition, Nominee)
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