A feature documentary is in the pipeline with promises to offer a uniquely comprehensive insight into the initial epicenter of the Coronavirus outbreak -- China's Wuhan city. Aptly named as 'Wuhan! Wuhan!', the film is expected to show the "surreal scenes" from the early moments of the pandemic.
This film has been set up as a U.S.-China co-production, with Hong Kong martial arts star Donnie Yen, who is famous for his role in 'Ip Man,' 'Rogue One,' 'Mulan', as executive producer and Oscar winner Donna Gigliotti who backed movies like 'Shakespeare in Love,' 'Silver Linings Playbook' as a producer.
Co-directed by Chinese documentary filmmaker Gong Cheng, known for his work in 'A Bite of China,' and 'Voice of the Earth' and award-winning documentarian Yung Chang, who made films like 'Up the Yangtze,' and 'China Heavyweight,' the new feature documentary follows 36 hours in the life of disparate characters interwoven through the city of Wuhan. As per the reports, the production team of more than 30 people have been put on the front line to shoot the film.
The City Which Became the First Victim of Coronavirus
Peter Luo, CEO of Starlight Media which has backed highly popular movies like 'Crazy Rich Asians' and 'Midway', is putting the team together to deliver the movie. As per Deadline, he said the film will show how people fought in Wuhan, their lifestyle and how they "love when disaster strikes." He hoped that "every audience will witness the faith and hope throughout Wuhan! Wuhan!"
The feature documentary is produced by UNI-FILM, SA Inc., Starlight Media Inc., and Changsheng Film and Television. In a statement the filmmakers said:
Told through unprecedented access and intense, heart-wrenching cinéma vérité, this film is testament to the universality of peoples' collective pandemic experience, demonstrating that no matter what country, no one is immune to disease and that people, as a human species, share the same humanity in our struggle to survive.
As the shooting has begun in Wuhan capturing surreal footage, the production team is attempting to tell the true stories of the frontline health workers who were battling the virus. The characters portrayed in the film include a volunteer driver who gives free rides to the medical workers every day, a local barber who volunteers to serve medical workers for free, and a vlogger who delivers medicine to affected patients.
The film will also feature a psychotherapist who offers patients psychological counseling, a medical waste disposal supervisor, a couple who kept running their private clinic during the outbreak, and the doctors from emergency rooms trying to save Coronavirus infected patients' lives.
However, it is not disclosed whether the movie will portray the character of Coronavirus whistleblower Li Wenliang who died in February at the age of 34 after being infected by the virus.
