Coronavirus: Documentary crew stranded in Wuhan unveil eerie viral short film of abandoned city

Director of viral short has said he is pondering turning the film into a feature

New on-the-ground footage from a Chinese film crew has shown how the streets of Wuhan have been seemingly abandoned in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.

The film crew had been forced to pause production on their new movie in the city, before deciding to document their eerily silent surroundings.

The resulting short film, titled Wuhan: The Long Night, was cut together from footage that director Lan Bo, videographer Xie Dan, and other members of the film’s crew recorded on their phones.

The video has been viewed millions of times on Weibo, the Chinese equivalent of Twitter, prompting the idea of a full-length documentary from the director.

“My fellow crew members are in Wuhan and wanted to do something meaningful,” Lan Bo told Sixth Tone. “They want to record what happened.”

He continued, “First, since the lockdown, there hasn’t been a video presenting such a panoramic view [of the city]. And second, I feel that these are going to be valuable images for historical reference and for other documentaries.”

For his full-length film, Lan and his team will highlight the stories of health care workers and volunteers, focusing on how common people have been impacted by the shock of the epidemic.

“I hope people can tell the truth, that they can face the camera honestly,” he explained. “I hope my camera will not lie.”

The death toll from the coronavirus outbreak in mainland China has now passed 2,000, and more than 75,000 people are infected.

The short film can currently be viewed at Sixth Tone.