The Year of the Everlasting Storm is a collection of films from seven of contemporary cinema’s most celebrated directors, whose distinct aesthetics each create various expressions that showcase how they dealt with living through a global pandemic. Equally heartfelt and unique, Jafar Panahi, Anthony Chen, Malik Vitthal, Laura Poitras, Dominga Sotomayor, David Lowery, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul each craft stories so deep and expressive in just 20 minutes, it feels as if we’re getting a peek into the inner workings of their minds throughout the most chaotic of times.

The Year of the Everlasting Storm takes its name from a short poem that is presented onscreen, kicking off the anthology series in a seemingly chaptered and formulaic way (and no, it’s not a callback to David Lowery’s The Green Knight, where prior knowledge of the aforementioned poem is encouraged beforehand). However, of the seven films presented, no two are alike–much like the directors themselves. From Jafar Panahi’s mumblecore family dramedy in Iran, to Laura Poitras’s investigative political documentary in New York, The Year of the Everlasting Storm is a cinephile’s smorgasbord that tells very different global stories from very different perspectives. The only underlying commonality is the pandemic production-affected restraints in which the films were made.

We all react to stress and despair in different ways. Some turn to family, others turn inward, but a majority of us all desperately want one thing: to connect. This theme of reconnection is prevalent throughout all of the films, be it in a literal sense or more abstract. David Lowery’s film focuses on a woman’s quest to revisit her past. Malik Vitthal’s mixed media piece is centered around reclaiming his family. Anthony Chen tells a story about a struggling young couple on the verge of a marital breakdown. And Dominga Sotomayor shares a portrait of a middle-aged woman longing to play a motherly role in her daughter’s life.

Perhaps the simplest entry (and my personal favorite) is the observational closing film from Thai master Apichatpong Weerasethakul. His films always stay true to the present moment and this is no different. Intricate attention to sound and his visual patience are what tie everything together. Weerasethakul is able to recenter us, bringing our thoughts back to the here and now.

The Year of the Everlasting Storm, which made its premiere at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, should be enjoyed as a time capsule of modern-day life through filmmaking. Playing more like a museum gallery exhibition rather than a traditional film with plot structure or character development, this anthology series is a remarkable piece of art that transcends boundaries and creative restraints.

Distributed by NEON. Opening at the Laemmle Royal this Friday.