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.

In a deep dive, when consciousness shrinks to a singular point, any mistake can prove disastrous. 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. The word “otherworldly” doesn’t quite do justice to the underwater environments that Jessea encounters, whether swimming beneath the Antarctic ice or in the azure waters of the Bahamas. But in spite of its elemental beauty, the sea is not a forgiving place.

As a scientist, Jessea takes an analytical approach to her chosen sport, investing in rigorous training, including breath control and meditation, but the physical challenges are just the beginning. In the darkness of the deepest subconscious, ancient fears, like the leviathan of old, wait. When barometric pressure compresses the lungs and squeezes the vital organs, the mammalian diving reflex shifts blood to the core of the body; the heart slows and the pulse drops. It is the power of the mind that then 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.