Behind the Mask - Stories of the COVID-19 pandemic (2021)

CORONA.FILM - Prologue

As the first part of our investigation, the CORONA.FILM prologue will delve into the science behind the pandemic. Starting at the very beginning, we shine a light on the responses. The aim is not to point the finger; our aim is to tell the whole story in all its complexity, as we believe that justice cannot prevail if only one side of the story is told.

Los locos que no pararon la tele

The famous Spanish comedian Andreu Buenafuente, CEO of the production company El Terrat and prestigious TV host, tells how he and his numerous collaborators, both on set and behind the cameras, managed to carry on with their work despite the chaos and the several logistical and human problems caused by the global pandemic that began in early 2020.

The Day Sports Stood Still

The story of the unprecedented sports shutdown in March of 2020 and the remarkable turn of events that followed. This sports documentary is a chronicle of the abrupt stoppage, athletes’ prominent role in the cultural reckoning on racial injustices that escalated during the pandemic, and the complex return to competition in the summer and fall.

Génération COVID

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Le Crime Parfait

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World War C

It's war. War against an invisible enemy that is not as deadly as we are told. The world is changing rapidly. Disproportionate measures are taken worldwide that disrupt society as a whole. A dichotomy in society forced vaccinations and restrictions on freedom. Have we had the worst? Or is there something more disturbing to awaiting us.

The Truth About the 'Skinny' Jab

Anna Richardson investigates the latest generation of weight-loss drugs that have been all over the media and social media. Anna talks to doctors and actual users of the "skinny jab," explains what makes these drugs work, and investigates the most common adverse effects.

Heart of the Bear

A woodsman from the Catskills helps a group of people get through the COVID-19 pandemic with a daily livestream.

Quarantine

A short film of the first weeks of strict national lockdown, filmed in Barcelona on a classic home video camera Hi8. Narrates the story of three women who share a flat and who create a microworld not only to survive the global pandemic but also to survive themselves.

Pass the Salt

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The first wave - Milan in the time of Covid-19

The choral work of 57 directors and filmmakers who tell stories of Milan at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Year Earth Changed

Never-before-seen footage shows how our living in lockdown opened the door for nature to bounce back and thrive. Across the seas, skies, and lands, Earth found its rhythm when we came to a stop.

Fin de vie : pour que tu aies le choix

Marina Carrère d'Encausse lifts the veil on the intimate questions that preoccupy her as well as society at large: those related to the end of life. The doctor-journalist introduces Antoine, her partner, who is suffering from Charcot's disease, an incurable illness, and who wishes to choose how he ends his life. Is the current law in France sufficient? Should it simply be better enforced, allowing better access to palliative care? Should assisted suicide and euthanasia be legalized? Marina meets with patients concerned about the end of life, caregivers, and politicians in France, as well as in Belgium, Switzerland, and Canada, countries where euthanasia and assisted suicide are legal.

At Averroes & Rosa Parks

Averroès and Rosa Parks: two units of the Esquirol Hospital, which - like the Adamant - are part of the Paris Central Psychiatric Group. From individual interviews to «carer-patient» meetings, the filmmaker focuses on showing a form of psychiatry that continually strives to make room for and rehabilitate the patients’ words. Little by little, each one eases open the door to their world. Within an increasingly worn-out health system, how can the forsaken be given a place among others.

In Spite of Ourselves

An explosion in one of the largest chemical plants in Europe, the Petrochemical complex in Tarragona, triggers the labour struggle of a group of workers who demand what is fair for everyone.

144

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 WNBA season pivoted into a bubble site in Bradenton, Florida – where 144 players across 12 teams convened to face the rigors of an unrelenting schedule and finish their battle for a championship; all while just as dedicated to amplify social activism in response to the injustices that gripped that same summer. A documentary from ESPN Films.

Palo Amargo, Jeep, Grapefruits

Faced with the global crisis due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the head of a family trusts in the curative and preventive properties of the Palo Amargo tea, but his believes end up reverberating within the family dynamic.

Edge of the Valley

A nine-year-old Syrian refugee girl contemplates her increasingly bleak future after being forced to drop out of school in the midst of Lebanon’s unprecedented economic collapse and battle with Covid-19.

The Return

It’s spring in the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Uyantza festival is underway with the community celebrating all that the forest has to offer. Meanwhile, news is breaking around the world that a novel virus is spreading and a state of emergency is declared across the country. As people test positive for COVID-19 in the community, some families decide to leave and head deeper into the jungle. Disconnected from school, friends, the internet, and work, one family learns to reconnect with life in the forest. The children begin to unlearn the national curriculum, and instead are taught Indigenous knowledge that mainstream schools normally pass over. As COVID-19 wreaks havoc around the planet, the family reconnect to their ancestral ways, but as news arrives that Ecuador’s lockdown will end soon, will the family choose to return?

Living Proof

Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, documentarian Matt Embry takes viewers on a transnational journey — from Italy to Canada, and from the lab to the home — in order to examine the politics of the condition.

The Last Man

Gravedigger is the last name on the list of fighters facing the Corona epidemic. The gravediggers have buried the dead in one corona after another at the call of humanity even though they were not paid. In return, they received some rewards and an invaluable realization. One of them is Aslam of Ray Bazar Cemetery, The Last Man.

Gray's Anatomy

The film documents, in an often dramatic and humorous fashion, Gray's investigations into alternative medicine for an eye condition (Macular pucker) he had developed.

Hell of a Cruise

Peels back the curtain on the two-week, claustrophobic nightmare when passengers and crew members boarded the luxury Diamond Princess cruise ship in January of 2020, they had no idea that the deadly novel coronavirus boarded the ship with them, turning the floating paradise into their worst nightmare.

Until Further Notice

With his industry on lockdown and no end in sight, Toronto chef Luke Donato tries to keep his culinary passion alive during the COVID-19 pandemic - even if it means teaching a group of misfits online.

Tall Poppy: A Skater's Story

A child who just loved to skate from the age of eight, Poppy Starr Olsen became the number one female bowl skater in Australia at 14 and went on to take out bronze at the XGames at 17 - the ultimate competition in the world of skateboarding. The same year, skateboarding was announced as an official additional sport category at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Now faced with the opportunity to represent Australia on the world stage Poppy grapples with the transition from skater to athlete and the pressure of competition mounts in a way it has never done before.

The Year of the Everlasting Storm

Featuring seven stories from seven auteurs from around the world, the film chronicles this unprecedented moment in time, and is a true love letter to the power of cinema and its storytellers.