Directed by Cooper D. (Roger) Wilson

Logline: Oh Canada - Oh Covid documents the opening days of the coronavirus pandemic in Ottawa, Ontario Canada.

Synopsis: Hand processing and tinting/toning techniques transform images of deserted streets and parks into illusory archival footage, shifting an unimaginable present into an unreal past. Photographed on 16mm black and white film and hand-developed in the filmmaker's bathroom using a DIY developer made from timothy hay and Vitamin C supplements, the film's rich colours are created through hand-toning the film using concentrated drink mixes sourced from the local grocery store.

Distribution Contact: WFG

More Details

RUNTIME: 6 Minutes
GENRE: Experimental
PRODUCTION FORMAT: 16mm
LANGUAGE: English
LOCATION: Ontario
KEYWORDS: Art, Covid 19, Experimental

Director's Statement: The process that Cooper used to film Oh Canada Oh Covid comes from isolation, Cooper wanted to maintain a feeling of separation from the subjects they photographed and to focus on the isolated individual. Cooper developed the film negatives in their bathroom and used handmade film developers as a way to isolate themselves from the film community. The film's colours and rough textures represent the Covid virus floating around, entering and exiting our lives. The soundtrack was designed to give the film a National perspective, though all of the footage was photographed in Ottawa, similar situations were happening across Canada.