Céline Roustan

US Viewers: Please view the film here.

On January 20th 2020, the first case of coronavirus was recorded in the United States. We’re all familiar with what happened next (and is still happening) and in the following months, we’ve all been impacted, one way or another, by COVID-19. In their 29-minute documentary Pandemic19, directors Yung Chang and Annie Katsura Rollins shed an intimate light on the experience of three doctors facing the health crisis. Through video diaries, we gain a genuine insight into how the situation has affected their lives, both professionally and emotionally.

Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room. We’ve all been watching the news non-stop for a year now, living in this constant atmosphere, many of us in-and-out of lockdown during this time. So you’re probably thinking – why would I want to watch another film about the coronavirus? Especially one with a (let’s be honest about it) rather off-putting runtime.

Dr. Virginia “Ginny” Brady, a Pulmonary and Critical Care Physician.

Well, don’t let those preconceptions put you off. Pandemic19 is a fascinating watch. Playing like an unsensationalized time-capsule, it has a reflective aspect that works to increase the personal feel of the film and the honest insights of the three participating doctors make the short incredibly compelling. While there is no competition surrounding who is having a harder time during this period, their experience is not only truly humbling, it provides a human face for a crisis which can often be reduced to statistics for many of us.

“A sensational, adrenaline-ride pandemic film was never our vision”

When asked about the inspiration behind the project and what they aimed to do with their film, the co-directors shared that “a sensational, adrenaline-ride pandemic film was never our vision”. This approach instantly sets the film apart from most other COVID-19 shorts I’ve seen and elevates the film, it is about more than just the pandemic.

By also focusing on how the current health system in place in the US dealt with the pandemic, the documentary prompts its audience to join its doctors on that reflective journey. Their candor humanizes the frontline while also raising many questions about the industry in which they work. Providing an accurate look at their realities, the short should have an emotional impact, even for those that are now feeling desensitized to the situation or stuck in an endless state of anxiety.

The video diaries were shot between March and August, which gives us full access to the ups and downs of the first wave. By having each doctor film themselves, at their own convenience, adds an extra later of authenticity to the material. As they share and react to their own individual experience, we’re provided with three completely different points-of-view on the same crisis.

Dr. Pooja Aysola, one of the three doctors recording their experiences for Pandemic19.

As we witness them battling the pandemic, we’re provided with a medical/science perspective, as healthcare workers navigating the uncertainties of this unknown virus. Through the increased demand put on them, we experience how it affects their relationship to their work and of course, as patients and unfortunately deaths increase, we can see the emotional toll fighting the pandemic is taking on them.

As is customary in documentaries, the editing is what shapes the film. In this case, working with video diaries can quickly become visually redundant and slow down the pacing of the film. Yet here, without manufacturing a contrived tension, the film switches between testimonies, using each experience to inform the other. Consistenly keeping up an engaging pace, Chang and Rollins ensure we have an emotional connection with Dr. Pooja Aysola, Dr. Virginia Brady and Dr. Brian Chang and ultimately it’s this personal angle which makes Pandemic19 both captivating and impactful.

Pandemic19 was selected at the 2020 Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival where it won the Audience Award and got a Special Jury Mention. Annie Katsura Rollins, who is an interdisciplinary artist, scholar and a professor at the University of Connecticut, has two book chapters forthcoming this year. While Yung Chang, who is already an established filmmaker, is premiering his new feature documentary Wuhan Wuhan at the upcoming edition of Hot Docs.