The Year That Changed Britain: ITV developing ‘crucial’ pandemic movie from Oscar-winning director

Film is scheduled for release in 2021

Oscar-winning director Kevin Macdonald has been commissioned to create a Covid-19 documentary for ITV.

The forthcoming feature – titled The Year That Changed Britain – will follow the story of the ongoing pandemic and focus on its impact in the UK.

According to Variety, Macdonald will highlight the intimate personal and professional experiences of those who lived through the pandemic. 

The film begins before coronavirus became a worldwide emergency, tracking its escalation into a national lockdown and beyond.

Filmmakers have reportedly been granted “unprecedented” access to intensive care units across the country, including at the Whittington Hospital in London and the Royal Preston Hospital in Lancashire.

Film will give viewers ‘unprecedented’ access to intensive care units in hospitals across the country (REUTERS)

Macdonald – whose previous credits include the Academy Award-winning One Day in September – told the publication: “As we are living with the unfolding pandemic we are enduring and adapting to how this affects us all. This film is crucial to our comprehension of what our future will look like.”

He added: “We are able to watch first hand how the landscape of our lives changes.”

In a coincidence of timing, Netflix released their docuseries titled Pandemic: How to Prevent an Outbreak in January, just as the severity of the pandemic was becoming clear.

Last month saw the release of Totally Under Control, a documentary that took to task the Trump administration’s pandemic response in the US.

The Year That Changed Britain will be released in UK and Irish Cinemas in 2021.