Mark Watt’s short addresses the problem we all are experiencing throughout the world in 2020. ‘Dear COVID-19’ is a short film about hope and what lies ahead, about not how we will adapt to a potential future, but how belief will change the future to be adjusted to us. This premise seems to be the right one, from our point of view, as we need to overpower this situation and create a future we can all live in.

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Watt’s short focuses not only on the physical side but also on the mental side. What the little girl tries to tell us is that we have to keep ourselves balanced and sane, even though we are going through dark times. The situation is similar to falling into quicksand: the more you panic, the faster you will go down. Keeping calm and safe is the only way to do it, and this short manages to effectively preach the message of a better day.

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The shots used by Watt with empty classrooms, empty roads, where everything seems abandoned, reminded us of the Chernobyl documentaries that were so popular in the past two years, especially with the rise of the hit TV series. The emotional impact of these shots can go both ways: people could get scared of a cataclysm, or they will acknowledge the result and will be careful and well balanced. We would go with the latter variant as unfortunately, many so-called journalists already preach the first one.

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We are not alone! Humanity saw disastrous days in the last century, and we learned from our mistakes. Ellie Watt, the little girl who narrates the whole uplifting message, has the determination and the positivity of Greta Thunberg, another kid-wonder who raised awareness about climate change. The new generation seems to be the one that will make a difference, and for that to happen, we all have to stay inside and protect ourselves today, to be capable of making an enormous difference tomorrow!

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Written by Vlad A. Gheorghiu