PÖFF30 | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | 6-22 november 2026 | Cinema Artis
Qihuo has a secret: she’s just had her first menstruation. This marks the arrival of the ‘Changing Skirt’ ceremony, a traditional coming-of-age ritual, which signifies she is no longer a child, but a woman bound to the communal demands of marriage and labor.
With her parents away as migrant labourers and grandfather recently passed, Qihuo and her two best friends set out on a road trip to buy a skirt for her rite of passage. Blending raw documentary with an improvised fictional voyage, the film crafts a world inhabited by the girls that exists beyond social norms. Here, as the days go by and landscapes shift, the trio traverse the rugged mountains, chase shadows and cherish fleeting moments. A time capsule, “Whispers in May” clings to the last moments of childhood, just before reality takes hold.
The film premiered at this year’s Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX), where it also won the award for best feature.
In cinema 11/8/2026
PÖFF: Whispers in May
Chun Ri Huan You
-
Genre
Drama, Documentary
Director
Dongnan Chen
Run time
1h 36min
Genre
Drama, Documentary
Director
Dongnan Chen
Run time
1h 36min
PÖFF30 | Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival | 6-22 november 2026 | Cinema Artis
Qihuo has a secret: she’s just had her first menstruation. This marks the arrival of the ‘Changing Skirt’ ceremony, a traditional coming-of-age ritual, which signifies she is no longer a child, but a woman bound to the communal demands of marriage and labor. With her parents away as migrant labourers and grandfather recently passed, Qihuo and her two best friends set out on a road trip to buy a skirt for her rite of passage. Blending raw documentary with an improvised fictional voyage, the film crafts a world inhabited by the girls that exists beyond social norms. Here, as the days go by and landscapes shift, the trio traverse the rugged mountains, chase shadows and cherish fleeting moments. A time capsule, “Whispers in May” clings to the last moments of childhood, just before reality takes hold. The film premiered at this year’s Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX), where it also won the award for best feature.
Qihuo has a secret: she’s just had her first menstruation. This marks the arrival of the ‘Changing Skirt’ ceremony, a traditional coming-of-age ritual, which signifies she is no longer a child, but a woman bound to the communal demands of marriage and labor. With her parents away as migrant labourers and grandfather recently passed, Qihuo and her two best friends set out on a road trip to buy a skirt for her rite of passage. Blending raw documentary with an improvised fictional voyage, the film crafts a world inhabited by the girls that exists beyond social norms. Here, as the days go by and landscapes shift, the trio traverse the rugged mountains, chase shadows and cherish fleeting moments. A time capsule, “Whispers in May” clings to the last moments of childhood, just before reality takes hold. The film premiered at this year’s Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival (CPH:DOX), where it also won the award for best feature.
Info
Rating
-
Production year
2026
Global distributor
Filmotor
Local distributor
Pimedate Ööde Filmifestival MTÜ
In cinema
11/8/2026