The effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic on the mental health of Guyanese is among the main issues on the minds of budding filmmakers who have submitted short films for the “592 48 Hour Film Challenge” that has been organised by the Timehri Film Festival and Bent Street Films.
Not surprisingly, the pandemic features in most of the 11 entries that have been submitted for the challenge, which required that the entrants completed their projects within 48 hours.
The short films that have been submitted are: FAITH, De Fuss Five Minutes, I Can’t Breathe, Home School, DETACHED, FREE, The Robber, Mi Casa, Manic, ANXIETY and Inside Inside. FAITH, which is about a man (Joel Profit) caring for his younger brother (Stephon Fraser) after he is infected with COVID-19 and his religious faith, was written and directed by Dexter Copeland, who is also the visual editor of the short.
De Fuss Five Minutes is a documentary short by Gavin Mendonca, who documents what he does during the first five minutes after he wakes up.
The film I Can’t Breathe by Martin Massiah shows the mental and physicals effects that COVID-19 has on men afflicted with the disease. The subject is also explored in Anxiety, which was written by Shameeza Jasmine Wong and directed by Bonny Alves.
Similarly, Manic, directed by Cordell McClure, is about a woman who had a mental breakdown while trying to adhere to COVID-19 restrictions.
DETACHED also examines the mental effects COVID-19 has on a person who is self-quarantining.
Home School by Vishanie Ragobeer is also COVID-19 related short that explores the things she does in quarantine.
Mi Casa is set five years in a future where COVID-19 still plagues Guyana. A wanted man by the name of Carlos wants to go home to his sick daughter in Venezuela.
Inside Inside is documentary on the limited amount of things a person can do inside their home while quarantining while the film, FREE, highlights the positive side of the coronavirus pandemic while paying tribute to those that have died as a result of the disease.
The Robber, written and directed by Rae Wiltshire, is about a break-in.
All the short films can be viewed at YouTube: https://bit.ly/3dFHc3J. Voting for an audience award was open until the end of yesterday.
