Vancouver filmmaker Mostafa Keshvari was in an elevator, back in the relatively carefree days of January, when a news headline caught his attention.
Before it was known around the world as COVID-19, the virus – which has since morphed into a global pandemic – was sometimes disparagingly referred to as “Wuhan virus” or “China virus.”
The xenophobic undertones weren’t lost on Keshvari, who during that elevator ride was disheartened reading stories of Asian tourists experiencing bigotry and racism as fear of the virus spread faster than the virus itself.
It also inspired him creatively. Keshvari now finds himself in the rather eccentric position of having made what is likely the very first motion picture inspired by and about novel coronavirus.
“At the time, we didn’t know it was going to be so big,” says Keshvari.
Following a marathon one-month filming schedule, Keshvari and his crew completed Corona in mid-February, before the disease had become the worldwide event it currently is.
“As an independent filmmaker you have to think outside of the box, so I literally had to make this film in the box – in the elevator,” he says.
Corona is a 63-minute feature film that follows a group of people of varying backgrounds who get stuck in their apartment building’s elevator. Rumours circulate that someone in the building has COVID-19, and it’s the Chinese woman in the elevator who bears the brunt of her neighbours’ fears and tensions after the group gets stranded.
While the movie, which was filmed in a single long continuous take, centres on COVID-19 it’s by no means a disaster film, according to Keshvari.
“I wanted to leave those pandemic, big-budget horror films to Hollywood,” says Keshvari. “We used coronavirus as an analogy and metaphor for fear and xenophobia – fear of other races.”
The filmmaker had hoped to get the timely picture into the film festival circuit, but that plan was put on ice after the virus spread and closed all the big festivals, film or otherwise, around the world.
Now, Keshvari is in talks to get his film digital distribution rights. He hopes to have a deal in place soon so that viewers can watch it on streaming services later this month.
“One thing that this virus has taught us is that it treats everyone equally. If we could all do the same, the world would be a better place – and I think that’s what the film is teaching us. The virus doesn’t discriminate,” he says.
Corona’s seven-person cast includes Emy Aneke, Andrea Stefancikova, Andy Canete, Josh Blacker, Richard Lett, Zarina Sterling and .
Stefancikova is a former North Vancouver resident who graduated from Argyle Secondary.
Keshvari notes that his film, especially since it was made during a spurt of inspiration in the disease’s very early days, is not about the origin story of COVID-19. Instead, it tackles broader questions about the origins of hate and racism – issues that will still linger long after the effects of the pandemic have faded away, he notes.
“There are a lot of Asian-Canadians that are being discriminated against,” he says. “We want the film to spread faster than the virus.”
