Jesper Jack

Inside the Daily Life of a Live Streaming Star in China

Over 2020, as Covid-19 has severely limited our ability to interact with the world beyond our front door, livestreams have helped transport us to places we couldn’t visit, people we couldn’t see and events we couldn’t attend. In China, live streaming services command an audience of nearly 560 million, with streamers broadcasting to devoted followers who tune in every night. Successful live streamers can earn thousands of dollars each month in direct donations from fans, and those at the very top earn millions from brand sponsorships and major contracts. In the short documentary, we enter two agencies that scout promising newcomers and mold them into high-earning stars. But what’s it like working for a company that engineers every aspect of your life — and then requires you to livestream it all day?

The Testament of Oliver

Director Jessica Nilsson’s staggering documentary The Testament of Oliver chronicles her friendship with Oliver Juvonen-Peel. Oliver has schizophrenia and struggles with alcohol use disorder. He drinks to cope with his psychiatric issues, but his dual diagnosis makes it challenging to find effective treatment. He reveals to the camera that mental health facilities reject him due to his alcohol abuse, and he’s involuntarily discharged from outpatient clinics because he’s mentally ill. The Testament of Oliver reveals what happens to the people who fall through the cracks of the healthcare system. Nilsson’s documentary offers a raw and hardhitting account of a man in dire need of specialized treatment and support systems. Nilsson captures her dear friend’s struggles with an unflinching eye, sharing Oliver’s soaring highs and crushing lows on his arduous road to recovery.

Next Summer

When Rasmus was 15, his mother and siblings moved from the island Bornholm and left Rasmus with his mentally ill father. Influenced by his father's insecurity, anger and failure, Rasmus chooses to move from Bornholm at the age of 18. Two years later, Rasmus is trying to see if a reunion is possible, but in order to forgive and create a new relationship, father and son must go on a common journey that requires extreme courage and determination to succeed.

What He Did

In 1988, emerging Danish playwright Jens Michael Schau killed his partner of 13 years, the acclaimed author Christian Kampmann, in a fit of jealous rage. The scandal gripped the nation as Schau pleaded guilty and accepted his prison sentence. Now released, Schau is a remorseful recluse who fears the gaze of friends he and Kampmann once shared. Under the weight of his conscience, he has never broken his silence about his horrifying act, until now.

Two Raging Grannies

Two Raging Grannies is a touching and thought-provoking documentary that challenges the idea that we must continue to shop, consume, amass, and keep the economy growing.