76 Days

An essential piece of history in the making and a landmark film for a strange and difficult year, 76 Days is fly on the wall reportage from the frontline of the COVID-19 crisis at its outset. Wuhan, China. A city of 11 million locks down in a rapidly escalating outbreak. 76 Days compiles raw and intense footage from the wards of the beleaguered hospitals as the cases proliferate and shows first hand the resilience of the health workers and the heart wrenching struggles of the patients and their families.

‘We had a lot of discussions about how to tell the story. The pandemic is continuing to evolve. News analysis of what happened in the past can flip flop. It depends on how each country is reacting, not just in the past, but also in the current and upcoming phases. I decided not to include any news clips or statistics… By making it “smaller,” or just focusing on the human emotions in the edit, I hope my film will last longer. Instead of news analysis or political analysis, I want this film to show how human beings help each other live through catastrophes. I would like future generations to be able to watch this. The story can still resonate with them because every once in a while, we all have to live through a crisis whether it’s a pandemic, a war, or something else. How can we see a glimmer of hope? How can we live through this together?’

Hao Wu, Co-director