The SXSW award-winning documentary In the Same Breath recounts the experiences of people on the ground in the earliest days of the novel coronavirus and the way two countries dealt with its initial spread, from the first days of the outbreak in Wuhan to its rampage across the United States.
In the Same Breath, directed by award-winning filmmaker Nanfu Wang (“One Child Nation”) debuts Wednesday, August 18 (9:00-10:40 p.m. ET/PT) on HBO.
Directed with a deeply personal approach by Wang, who was born in China and now lives in the United States, the film explores the early confusion and parallel campaigns by authorities to try to contain the virus as well as shape the public narrative through misinformation, resulting in a devastating impact on citizens of both countries.
Filmmaker Wang celebrates the Chinese New Year in her hometown about 200 miles outside Wuhan and then returns to the United States just as the first news reports about a dangerous new coronavirus start to surface. Working from the U.S., Wang’s adoptive country, she hears troubling reports coming out of the region via social media and tasks local videographers in Wuhan to capture the early days of the virus’s effects on the ground. Wang records wrenching audio testimonials from family members in China who have lost loved ones and she profiles several families in Wuhan struggling to come to terms with how quickly the virus took hold of their city and buckled an unprepared and overwhelmed health care system – foreshadowing what was soon to come in the U.S.
With emotional first-hand accounts from medical professionals, patients, and grieving family members, and startling, on-the-ground footage from both Wuhan and the U.S., In the Same Breath is a revelatory illustration of the devastating toll that resulted from official missteps at containment of the infection and the widespread phenomenon of social media misinformation, while also highlighting the strength and resilience of the people who risked everything to communicate the truth.
The critically acclaimed documentary celebrated its world premiere as the Opening Night film (Premieres) at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival and has gone on to play and win awards at multiple prestigious festivals including SXSW (winner of the Audience Award), Hot Docs Film Festival, Seattle International Film Festival, San Francisco International Film Festival, Full Frame, Opening Night of MoMA Doc Fortnight.
Watch the trailer for In the Same Breath.