Isolation is a time where we get creative. To kill the boredom, we rediscover long lost passions, pick up new skills, or go nuts on TikTok. Some have already become chefs, taking the wise teachings of Ratatouille’s Gusteau (or Mak Kiah) to heart, and spouting innovative concoctions for the whole nation. Others, like me, might be more interested in dabbling with lo-fi beats and becoming a Soundcloud rapper. And then, there’s the gamers and the weebs – full power to them! But for some, creating a whole feature-length film might just be what they need to accomplish…
Mostafa Keshvari, a filmmaker who hails from Vancouver, Canada, did just that. He wrote and directed a feature with a bunch of actors in a small space. This was all done by 8 March, several weeks before the entire globe went on a lockdown. The best thing about it? It’s all done in one-shot! The main problem? It hits a little too close to home with its title: Corona.
Sure, Vin Diesel might just show up and argue that it’s a movie about ‘la familia’ and cars drifting in a parking lot and Jason Statham’s bald head along with swigs of Corona beers. But I assure you, it is not that kind of movie.
According to the film’s Youtube channel, the plot follows a group of neighbours who get trapped in an elevator. However, when a Coronavirus suspect begins coughing uncontrollably, ugly sentiments of xenophobia and fear immediately manifest themselves from the mixed cast which includes a Chinese lady, a disabled man with a swastika mark on his forehead, and a pregnant woman. Wow, this is some bonkers stuff!
You can watch the trailer for Corona here:
Interestingly, Keshvari has found a way to play into the public’s worst fears whilst inserting character studies for his audience. The claustrophobic panic. The loud accusations. The subsequent scuffles for survival. The film displays the dreadful flaws of humanity at its darkest hour, its light bleeding blood-red. It reminds us that we have a burden to carry, to be selfless, and to care for one another at times like these. Indeed, Corona might not be the movie the world needs right now, but the one it deserves.
No information has been provided so far with regard to when and how Corona will be released. Nevertheless, I gotta admire the filmmaker’s pioneering ambition to create a film based on the pandemic that is currently raging across the Earth. It might be too soon for the rest of us, but for him, he’ll be remembered as the first Coronavirus movie auteur.
No offense Keshvari, but I hope we don’t get a sequel.
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