Xi Jinping has repeatedly urged the media and art world to „tell Chinese stories well.“ Documentary filmmaker Sun Hong has done this well by taking an authentic approach. Her film „This Is Life 烟火人间“ was shown in cinemas across the country in January. 509 ordinary Chinese people talk about their lives in videos they made on their phones. Sun edited together 887 of these clips and divided them into chapters that shed light on everyday concepts such as „food“ and „home.“ The stories focus primarily on rural China and smaller towns. Their inhabitants like to use the video app Kuaishou, which served as a never-ending source of inspiration for the 37-year-old director.