Vancouver-filmmaker hopes COVID-19 movie will highlight humanity wins over hate

Vancouverites are sure to recognize the setting of an unprecedented film featuring COVID-19 and the rise in anti-Asian racism it has triggered. 

So far this year, Vancouver police report 29 hate crimes targeting the Asian community are being investigated. In the same duration in 2019, only four were reported, marking a 600 per cent spike. 

Persian-Canadian filmmaker Mostafa Keshvari says the idea for Corona came to him during an elevator ride in January, while reading reports of an increase in anti-Asian hate crimes following the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. It was filmed weeks before the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak a pandemic.

He stresses that Corona is less about the coronavirus itself but rather is used as a symbol for the fear of the unknown, racism and xenophobia. 

“When fear takes over it spreads faster than the virus and people start behaving differently. It's more of a study on human behaviour under these circumstances—how we behave under fear and pressure,” says Keshvari. 

“That's the message of this film: do we pass this test for humanity when we are fighting for survival? Because even though people are dying, that doesn't mean humanity has to die too.”

The action, like Keshvari’s inspiration, takes place in an elevator, a location he finds unique for its ability to force people from all walks of life to share space and time—albeit short. 

The film’s elevator is in an apartment building, with residents including a pregnant woman, a white supremacist, the property owner, a low-income tenant behind on rent, a young conspiracy theorist and a Chinese woman who doesn’t speak english. When the elevator breaks, the group is trapped together on the elevator, and their fear quickly gets out of control when the Chinese woman starts showing signs of the virus. 

Corona was filmed with a hand-held camera in one continuous, and actors were encouraged to improvise their dialogue based on specific plot points. The intention of this was to make the film as realistic and relatable as possible, giving audience members the sense that they too are trapped in the elevator. 

Keshvari has been making films in Vancouver for the last five years, with this being his second feature film. All of his films have centered around pertinent social issues. As the President of the BC Minorities in Film and TV Society, he also promotes diversity and inclusion in front of and behind the camera. He had originally hoped to submit Corona to various international film festivals, but since those were cancelled he is now looking at digital distribution. 

Vancouver advocates are working to counter anti-Asian attacks address address anti-Asian racism through social media campaigns like #HealthNotHatte. In the meantime, Keshvari stays hopeful.

“This virus has proven to us that it doesn't discriminate, so why should we?” Keshravri says. “After all this is over I hope we'll have a better understanding of each other and more compassion towards each other.”