In recent years, live streaming has boomed in China and turned into a veritable industry. In 2017, more than 420 million Chinese regularly shared streamed videos. Viewers can interact with the so-called “anchors,” ask questions and reward them with virtual gifts that can be cashed in the real world. For her documentary film, Shengze Zhu followed a dozen anchors for ten months. From more than 800 hours of footage she created a collective portrait of a generation for whom the online and offline worlds are tightly interwoven. Rather than selecting famous anchors with thousands of followers, Zhu chose more marginal types: a little talented street dancer, a paralysed girl, a young single mother working in a textile factory. For all of them the internet seems to be the only way to experience a form of friendship. The Chinese censor has clamped down on the phenomenon, and many virtual showrooms have been closed. The rest perform self-censorship. Live streaming, however, says a lot about contemporary Chinese society and its shortcomings.