Short film about Wuhan haunts millions of viewers

Immediately after being posted online, the short documentary film, only 4 and a half minutes long, titled "Wuhan: The long night" (English name: Wuhan: The long night) immediately attracted millions of views.

Footage captures visual images in Wuhan city after the Covid-19 epidemic spread.

The streets were deserted. The buildings stood in silence.

The brief descriptions of locations and times evoke a post-apocalyptic cityscape, but these are real scenes shot in Wuhan - a once bustling city of more than 11 million people now almost deserted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The movie "Wuhan Night" is taking Chinese social networks by storm.

It is known that the main author group is a film crew that has been stuck in the center of Wuhan city since January 23. After being stuck in the epidemic area and unable to continue their work, they decided to use the camera to create a documentary during these historic hours.

“The crew members are all in Wuhan… They want to do something meaningful,” said Lan Bo, the film’s director. “They want to document what’s happening.”

Lan Bo also said that he and the team had to postpone their project due to the epidemic. That's when the crew's cameraman, Xie Dan, started filming the surrounding images with his phone. The team then named the film "Wuhan Night", and shared it online.

The haunting images of Wuhan have been viewed millions of times on China's Weibo social media platform. The film has gone viral, prompting Lan to develop it into a longer documentary.

The lyrics of the song "Motherland and I" are heard in the film.

"Since Wuhan was locked down, there has not been a video that comprehensively records life here. I feel these images will be valuable for historical reference and for other documentaries," said director Lan.

With this special film, Lan and her team will focus on telling the stories of ordinary people whose lives are disrupted by the pandemic. They are medical staff, volunteers, and people doing other jobs.

"I hope people will tell the truth, and they can face the camera honestly. I hope my camera will not lie," the director shared.

The crew is developing the short documentary into a full, comprehensive film.

Covid-19 has now killed more than 1,700 people in China and infected more than 70,000 worldwide. Last week, authorities revealed that the disease had infected 1,716 health workers, killing six. More than 1,102 health workers in Wuhan alone have been infected.

Amid the Covid-19 pandemic, many professional and freelance journalists stuck in Wuhan have been recording real-life images from the epicenter. Meanwhile, those on the periphery are doing their best to support Wuhan, protect the community, and prevent the epidemic.