Quendrith Johnson

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent

Once upon a Pandemic, before we wore masks and were 24/7 at home on lockdown, there was a beginning to this scary tale. Although some now say Postives showed up on the Continent, or that South America effluvia revealed COVID-19 antibodies present, 76 DAYS from Director Hao Wu tells an in-country story from China. Not an indictment, this is a human-scale documentary chronicle about a superbug that changed all our lives. Kudos to MTV Documentary Films for this one.

From Screenmancer 

Director Hao Wu unleashes his searing non-fiction examination at the dawn of COVID-19, the initial 11 weeks of the raging superbug, in 76 DAYS from MTV Documentary Films for release on Dec. 4.

On January 23rd, 2020, China locked down Wuhan, a city of 11 million, to combat the emerging COVID-19 outbreak. Set deep inside the frontlines of the crisis, 76 DAYS tells indelible human stories at the center of this pandemic—from a woman begging in vain to bid a final farewell to her father, a grandfather with dementia searching for his way home, a couple anxious to meet their newborn, to a nurse determined to return personal items to families of the deceased. These intimate stories bear witness to the death and rebirth of a city under a 76-day lockdown, and to the compassion and human resilience that persists in times of profound tragedy. New York filmmaker Hao Wu (People’s Republic of Desire) and two China-based journalists, Weixi Chen and “Anonymous” took enormous personal risks to film at four different hospitals.

How We Went from Bad to Nurse

This documentary world-premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival where it topped IndieWire’s Critics Poll as Best Documentary of the festival. It will be released in over 50 virtual cinemas nationwide (including Film Forum in NY and Laemmle Theaters in LA) beginning Friday, December 4. 76 DAYS is directed by Hao Wu, Weixi Chen and Anonymous. It is produced by Hao Wu and Jean Tsien, and written and edited by Hao Wu. Shot by Anonymous and Weixi Chen, the film’s executive producers are Sheila Nevins, Bryn Mooser, Geralyn White Dreyfous, Naja Pham Lockwood, Jamie Chen, and Roberto Grande.

AWARDS for 76 DAYS An Urgent Look at the Earliest Days of the COVID-19 Outbreak
in Wuhan, China Launches in Virtual Cinemas Nationwide
Beginning Friday, December 4 ** WON ** Best Cinematography, DOC NYC 2020 ** NOMINATED ** 
Best Documentary, Gotham Awards 2020 ** OFFICIAL SELECTION ** Toronto International Film Festival 2020 (World Premiere) Camden International Film Festival 2020 Heartland Film Festival 2020 (Grand Jury Prize) Double Exposure Film Festival (Opening Night) AFI Fest 2020 (Audience Award) DOC NYC 2020 (Winner - Short List - Best Cinematography)

Click here for virtual cinema listings. 

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