COVID DIARIES NYC, debuting TUESDAY, MARCH 9 (9:00 ET/PT), journals the lives of five young filmmakers, ranging in age from 17 to 21, who turn their cameras on themselves to tell the stories of their families during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City. The acutely personal film illuminates the plight of essential workers and their families during the early days of the COVID-19 crisis as they navigate the deadly virus and a country riven by social and justice upheaval.
The film will be available on HBO and to stream on HBO Max.
With original animation by Rosemary Colón-Martinez, COVID DIARIES NYC is comprised of five brave and at times heart-wrenching first-person profiles that provide profound insight into these young people’s experiences as they process the impacts and meaning of the COVID-19 pandemic:
“The Only Way to Live in Manhattan” follows Marcial Pilataxi, who lives with and helps his grandmother at a building where she works as the superintendent. They wrestle with the increasing amounts of tenants’ garbage because of those sheltering at home. Marcial makes food deliveries and tries to maintain normalcy with his friends as the city he knows changes against the backdrop of the pandemic and a city torn apart by unrest in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.
“My COVID Breakdown” follows Aracelie Colón, who struggles with her mental health as her father continues to go to work at the post office every day while the threat of the virus looms.
“When My Dad Got COVID” follows Camille Dianand, who is concerned about her father, a subway mechanic for the MTA. After a coworker dies from the virus, her father contracts COVID-19 and the family faces life and death terror.
“No Escape From New York” follows Shane Fleming, whose parents lose their jobs, leaving the family worrying about mounting bills, growing debt and their need to move out of New York City. They decide to go on a road trip to escape their problems, but the issues his mother and father face follow them wherever they go.
“Frontline Family” follows Arlet Guallpa, who watches with her family as ambulance after ambulance arrives at their apartment building in Washington Heights to take away residents who die from the virus. Despite their fears, her parents, a bus driver and home care attendant, carry on with work and try to overcome their anxieties about their family’s exposure.
HBO Documentary Films’ COVID DIARIES NYC is a DCTV production, directed by Marcial Pilataxi, Aracelie Colón, Camille Dianand, Shane Fleming, Arlet Guallpa, and Rosemary Colón-Martinez; produced by Jon Alpert, Jesse Perez Antigua, Sade Falebita, Naomi Mizoguchi, and Johnny Ramos; executive produced by Carrie Penner, Perri Peltz, and Matthew O’Neill.
Watch the trailer