Director's statement

As you may have noticed, UNVOICED was not made simply to record the distress and suffering of the people of Wuhan during the pandemic. It is said that recovering from trauma involves three stages: "establishing safety," "remembrance and mourning," and "reconnection with ordinary life." However, though it may be hard to imagine in other countries, in China today, any activity related to the "remembrance and mourning" essential to the recovery process is strictly prohibited regarding the events of the pandemic, even if there is zero intent to criticize or assign blame. If remembering the chaos and suffering of the pandemic and mourning the dead is essential to recovering from trauma and is a shared challenge for people everywhere, then providing a space for ordinary citizens to speak and heal amidst such strict taboos, and challenging the unreasonable reality was a major reason why I made this film. In that sense, all of you who have listened to their stories have contributed to that process of trauma recovery and to the process of resisting a reality where people are forbidden to speak with one another.