Wuhan film captures horror and humanity at coronavirus ground zero
In this file photograph taken on March 31, 2020, a man wearing a face mask as a preventive measure against the Covid-19 coronavirus holds a portrait as he stands outside the Biandanshan cemetery in Wuhan in China’s central Hubei province.
Premiering at the Toronto film festival Monday, "76 Days" -- named for the duration of the central Chinese city's draconian lockdown -- is the first major documentary from the disease's original epicenter to hit theaters.
Shot in a claustrophobic, cinema verite style -- without voice-over or direct-to-camera interviews -- the film relies on the intimacy of the footage of doctors and patients grappling with a terrifying new reality.
The film eschews politics and blame to focus on personal stories of tragedy and bravery, hope and despair, which repeated around the world after emerging in China.
Los Angeles,
Back in February, when few Americans were aware of a distant and oddly named phenomenon called coronavirus, two Chinese filmmakers strapped on hazmat suits and embedded themselves in Wuhan's overrun hospitals.
