On May 26, 2021, the juniors and seniors of SHSID were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to meet daring documentary director Mr. Fan Shiguang. He took the time to speak during an Assembly about his experience filmingLife Matters: Inside Wuhan’s Red Zone, a multi-part documentary detailing the struggles of frontline medical workers fighting at the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic. He captured as much footage as he could of the exhausted hospital staff, the plight of the afflicted patients, and the way the crisis brought together the city, as well as the country, in combating this common threat collectively.

With limited time, he was able to find incredibly compelling stories of people going out of their way to encourage and thank the doctors and nurses, speaking on the fact that one could truly feel how everyone was fighting together when they heard hundreds of people shouting words of praise and gratitude to those that risked their lives to save others. Moreover, director Fan was also able to film the dramatic tale of a group of doctors working around the clock to save an eighty-year-old man’s life, even after they were forced to amputate his legs due to medical complications. Students see the statistics, the data and the news reports every day, but this documentary sheds light on the true human cost and the story behind numbers.

With the end of the pandemic now in sight, documentaries like this one stand as testaments to human tenacity and our ability to come together when it becomes necessary.

(Written by Brandon Wu Pictures by Zhen Yu Edited and Supervised by Sijia He Reviewed by Qian Zuo)