Illustration of a spherical corona virus with green land patterns resembling continents. Red spike-like protrusions adorn the surface, set against a dark background, creating an image reminiscent of a globe.
A large bat hangs upside down inside a cage, gripping a piece of orange fruit with its claws and mouth. Its eyes are wide open, reflecting hues like a corona amidst the blurred metal bars, emphasizing the bat's presence against the subdued backdrop.
An assortment of animal skins and carcasses, including a pangolin and a furred animal, sprawls across a wooden surface. This stark tableau underscores biodiversity and raises conservation concerns in the shadow of corona's lasting impact.

Corona – The Pandemic and the Pangolin

Science·1 x 50 min·Completed

A gripping call to action: uncover the roots of pandemics, from wildlife crime to zoonotic threats, with global experts sounding a crucial warning.

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Genre
Science
Duration
1 × 50 min
Definition
HD
Audio
5.1
Status
Completed
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Synopsis

At a time when we are bombarded with COVID-19 information comes a moment of clarity – and a warning we cannot afford to ignore.

Connect via Skype with conservation icon Jane Goodall, controversial marine activist Paul Watson and a cast of experts quarantined in home offices and living rooms around the world, to hear their perspectives on our worst nightmare come true.
Revealing dialogues and relevant stories combine with raw, up to date images and Terra Mater’s classic, inspiring blue-chip footage, in a film to make you pause, feel and act.

As accusations and blame are cast on the failures of governments; as talk of coverups and conspiracies multiply; we invite audiences to change focus. In this film we ask – who is really behind the pandemic?

This is not just a story about today. There is nothing new about viruses that jump from animals to humans causing life threatening diseases.

David Quammen, author of a book written in 2012 that warns about the next human pandemic, reminds us of deadly viruses like Ebola, MERS, Hendra, and West Nile. The drumbeat continues with SARS-COV 2. The difference is, this one is affecting the world. According to Paul Watson, “this one is affecting white people”

Our guests hold no punches.

Scientists with hands on experience of emerging zoonotic diseases like Tracey McNamara, who found West Nile Virus in New York in 1999, see lessons for today. For decades she and other experts have called on governments to connect human, animal and environmental health. Spend more money on surveillance Tracey urges, or we will not detect the next viral threat “until we have a lot of people in an emergency room – or bodies in the morgue”

Why the title? Who knew what a pangolin was before this pandemic – before reports that it may or may not carry SARS COV 2? Chinese activist Jinfeng Zhou shows exclusive footage of pangolins suffering from suspected coronaviruses months before the outbreak. But, he says, even if the pangolin is not the source of this SARS coronavirus, it has become the symbol of this pandemic.
And the pangolin has become the symbol of our film – a symbol of the illegal and brutal wildlife trade run by organised criminals. Wildlife crime investigator Andrea Crosta takes us to where it begins.

In the jungles of Gabon, in a poacher’s camp, torch light illuminates the carcasses of slaughtered animals packed on top of one another, bodily fluids mixing. Here is a potential for deadly viruses to jump species. Andrea likens it to a Pandora’s box. We have opened that box.

“We have offered viruses a golden opportunity for evolutionary success.” David Quammen, “Corona – The Pandemic and The Pangolin”.

No apologies – this film is uncomfortable.

Team

Written by Ruth Berry
Produced by Susanne Lummer
Production companies A production of Terra Mater Factual Studios

Awards & Recognitions

New York, USA New York Festivals TV & Film Awards Bronze World Medal (Category: Science & Technology) 2021
New York, USA New York Festivals TV & Film Awards Bronze World Medal (Category: Best Writing) 2021
Gödöllö, Hungary International Nature Film Festival Gödöllö 1st Place (Category: International Film Review - Documentaries - Television Productions and Independent Films) 2021
Ludwigsburg, Germany NaturVision Filmfestival Requested Category of the Jury NaturVision International Competition Award 2021
Deauville, France Deauville Green Awards Gold Trophy (Category: Beyond COVID) 2021
Olomouc, Czech Republic AFO Academia Film Olomouc Official Selection (Category: International Competition) 2021
Goethe Science Film Festival Official Selection 2021
Lihula, Estonia MAFF - Matsalu Nature Film Festival Official Selection 2021
Ludwigsburg, Germany NaturVision Filmfestival Nomination (Category: German Biodiversity Film Award) 2021
Missoula, USA IWFF - International Wildlife Film Festival Finalist (Category: Living with Wildlife) 2021
Jackson Hole, USA Jackson Wild Media Awards Special Jury Award 2020
WCSFP - World Congress of Science & Factual Producers Buzzies Awards Nomination (Category: Biggest Impact of the Year) 2020
Jackson Hole, USA Jackson Wild Media Awards Finalist (Categories: Best Conservation Film - Long Form, Best Writing) 2020
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