COVID-19 Doc 'Wuhan- A Season in Hell' in the Works From Malcolm Clarke

(THR) Oscar-winner Malcolm Clarke documented the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in upcoming doc feature, Wuhan - A Season In Hell.

Made with a team of international filmmaker, the feature is meant to take viewers to ground zero of the global coronavirus pandemic.

For filming, Clarke traveled to Hubei Province, where his team of 20 filmmakers took up residence in a secure hotel adjacent to the wet market where the virus is alleged to have been born. In Wuhan, the filmmakers, accompanied by an infectious disease specialist, reconstruct a researched telling of what really happened in Wuhan during the early days after the discovery of the Coronavirus, including the mobilization of tens-of-thousands of medical professionals and the construction of two hospitals.

The doc will feature exclusive interviews with traders at the wet market, local doctors, volunteers, senior officials investigating the outbreak of the virus, and several of the first patients diagnosed with COVID-19.

ARTeFACT Entertainment is behind the doc, working with the Shanghai-based independent producer Han Yi . 

Clarke's is not the first doc that will tackle Wuhan's response to COVID-19. Oscar-winning producer Donna Gigliotti is behind another upcoming documentary, titled Wuhan! Wuhan!, also about the Chinese city at the epicenter of the global pandemic.

Both Wuhan - A Season In Hell and Wuhan! Wuhan! are China-U.S. co-productions. (Any film shooting in China must be vetted and approved by the government, which heavily censors content critical).

"This is by far the most challenging film I’ve ever made, shooting a film in a place where the country, the entire society, has taken itself to 'war,' " said Clarke. "This film is about responsibility; it’s the stories of those who stepped up and risked their lives, and the stories of those who could’ve done much more."

"I never expected my first working experience in China to be in the epicenter of a plague," says Fejmi Daut, the film’s director of photography who is best known for Honeyland.  "I had to get used to operating cameras with three layers of PPE. I really felt the fear and pain of the Wuhan people."

Added Yi, "By understanding what happened and bravely dealing with the devastation and pain, we hope that the City of Wuhan will come back stronger in the broken places."

CAA Media Finance represents the film’s worldwide distribution rights.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter by Mia Galuppo

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