7 Beats Per Minute

In the world of competitive freediving, Jessea Lu (Lu Wenjie) is a legendary figure. The Chinese freediving champion came late to the sport, vaulting into the top tier of talent with remarkable ability and a compulsive drive to challenge her limitations. But in the ocean, you cannot hide from yourself.

During a world-record attempt in 2018, Jessea blacked out and was lifeless for four minutes.

Award-winning director Yuqi Kang’s feature documentary 7 Beats Per Minute parallels Jessea’s physical and mental journey back from the depths, with intimate cinéma vérité camerawork, astonishing underwater imagery and raw personal interviews.

Set against the world of freediving, the film places the audience and the filmmaker herself in the immediacy of the experience. As barometric pressure compresses the body, the heart slows and the pulse drops, it is the power of the mind that proves critical. In the descent of a lifetime, the ocean is a mirror, reflecting back everything inside of you. In order to go deep, you have to let go.

As the boundaries between the filmmaker and her subject grow more fluid, the two return to the site of Jessea’s near-death experience to face the traumas of her past and find a way back to light, air and, ultimately, connection.