"76 days", a documentary on the beginnings of the coronavirus presented at TIFF

A doctor at Wuhan hospital in June 2020 -

A first documentary of its kind.

(76 days), titled in reference to the duration of the confinement of the Chinese city of Wuhan, premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday.

The film edited in a raw style, without a voiceover or a face-to-face interview, reveals images, shot by two Chinese directors, of citizens arriving terrified at the hospital and of doctors collapsing from exhaustion in the face of the virus.

"A horrible filming experience"

New York director Hao Wu (

) contacted the two filmmakers - one of whom is anonymous for security reasons - after witnessing China's early confinement while visiting family for the Chinese New Year.

The images show remarkable access, on the front line in the face of the chaos of the first weeks of Covid-19, but at the cost of significant personal risks.

“It was a horrible filming experience, including for them,” said Hao Wu. “It was like shooting in a war zone,” he said.

Personal motivation also drove Hao Wu to bring the project to fruition: his grandfather died of cancer, without having been able to end his life on a hospital bed, the establishments operating just in time in the face of Covid-19.

Diffusion in China unlikely

“At first, I was angry with the Chinese government.

I wanted to know who was at fault, what caused it, ”said the director.

However, once the pandemic has spread, the desire to document how “human beings go through this experience, how we can share it,” outweighed the desire to blame.

Despite Beijing's controlled management of information, access was somehow easier in China, according to Hao Wu, who faced privacy barriers while filming in hospitals. from New York.

It is uncertain whether the documentary will be shown in China, as Beijing has been accused by US President Donald Trump of "covering up" the severity of the epidemic when it started in China.

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• China

• Documentary

• Covid 19

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• Coronavirus