Staggering, harrowing and absolutely compelling, this documentary, shot in four overwhelmed hospitals, covers the historic 76 days between January 23 and April 8 of this year when Wuhan, the city of over 11 million people where Covid-19 first appeared, went into pandemic lockdown, thousands died, and health workers from all over China came to relieve stressed nurses and doctors. The film was unauthorized and is made by Hao Wu who worked from New York with two other directors he has not met, Weixi Chen in Wuhan and a collaborator who remains anonymous. It is not an easy fllm to watch, but being about resilience, hope, and resilience it is tremendously inspiring.– Laurence Kardish, Co-Artistic Director, FilmColumbia.
“One of the best I saw via Toronto is “76 Days”, a tough, very good Chinese documentary about the first months of the pandemic in Wuhan” — Manohla Dargis, New York Times
“[A] remarkable front-line report… An emotional-wringer… A work of true direct cinema… The camerawork and editing are extraordinary in their immediacy and their sensitivity to chaos, exhaustion and resilience — often all at once. There’s tenderness too, and awe.” — Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter
“By far the most of-the-moment selection this year was the world premiere of “76 Days”, a riveting documentary filmed during the shutdown in Wuhan, China. [An] astonishingly candid and deeply wrenching portrait of death, suffering and compassion.” — Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
directed by
Weixi Chen, Hao Wu, Anonymous(co-director)
Weixi Chen, Hao Wu, Anonymous(co-director)
written by
Hao Wu
Hao Wu
language
Chinese (with English subtitles)
Chinese (with English subtitles)