The Chinese government’s vision of an all-seeing society is becoming a reality. The documentary Total Trust follows an official, two human rights lawyers’ families, and a journalist to reveal how a person is gradually integrated into China’s state surveillance system. It depicts what it is like to live under constant surveillance, and the resulting trauma. Through intimate vérité scenes and rich archival footage, the film aims to explore the changes in social behavior and suppression of human rights when technology is in the hands of unchecked power. It also highlights people who risk their lives to stand up against it.

Total Trust was supported through Jialing Zhang’s 2021 Chicken & Egg Award.