A trenchant yet deeply human examination of relations between the United States and China, Vanessa Hope’s feature documentary debut sets its sights on three key figures: U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, as he struggles to maintain diplomacy amid international tensions over security and economic expansion; his adopted Chinese-American teenaged daughter Gracie, as she fosters a newfound appreciation for her bicultural heritage; and the blind Chinese attorney and activist Chen Guangcheng, as he seeks asylum in the U.S.A.

Through their individual and often-interlocking stories, Hope deftly pinpoints the historical events, ideologies, and policies that have come to define U.S–China relations. All Eyes and Ears sheds some much-needed light on this special relationship with the urgency and incisiveness that can only be found in documentary filmmaking this assured and accomplished.

—Geoffrey Gilmore