The novel coronavirus dominated news headlines from all over the world, but only a few have shown a closer look at the epicenter of the virus. A film crew stranded in China released a short film entitled "Wuhan: The Long Night."
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Here is a sample of the photo taken in the city:
What prompted them to do it
A month since the lockdown of Wuhan, the newly released viral video reveals a new perspective on how the virus left the city with a population of 14 million abandoned. The film crew was forced to halt their production amid the outbreak and instead created a haunting short film about the abandoned city.
Film director Lan Bo told Sixth Tone, "My fellow crew members are in Wuhan and wanted to do something meaningful. They want to record what happened. First, since the lockdown, there hasn't been a video presenting such a panoramic view [of the city]. And second, I feel that these are going to be valuable images for historical reference and for other documentaries."
Why only now
Lan and videographer Xie Dan worked with the rest of the film crew members and recorded cell phone footage from around Wuhan. They began filming on the day of the lockdown. The result is a chilling four-and-a-half-minute montage of deserted streets and famous landmarks in the abandoned city. Since its release, the short film amassed millions of views on Weibo, a Chinese social media outlet, giving Lan the idea to expand it into a full-length documentary.
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What did it cause
The outbreak has also caused a massive shut down on the nation's film industry and movie theaters putting Hollywood studios on edge as China is the world's second-biggest film market. The latest James Bond movie "No Time to Die" has canceled its Beijing premiere over fears of the spread of the coronavirus. Other national and regional events to be held in China have also been canceled indefinitely for the same reason.
COVID-19 Current News
The novel coronavirus, now identified as Covid-19, has infected more than 75,000 people and claimed the lives of more than 2000. The virus resulted in a lockdown of the city of Wuhan in China, its place of origin, since Jan. 23, in an attempt to contain the spread of this pandemic. According to CNN's latest updates on the virus, the Chinese CDC finds the novel coronavirus more contagious than SARS and MERS. Although not as fatal, the greater spread of the Covid-19 has led to more deaths than its related coronaviruses.
As the virus continues to spread, the photos remind us of the grim reality that this is indeed serious enough to garner global cooperation. It's only a matter of time that this happens to all cities if the virus is not contained and cured.
