76 Days

Production started in Wuhan in February 2020, soon after the lockdown began in the city at four different hospitals.{{Cite web|title=TIFF Talk: Hao Wu Takes Audiences to the Frontlines of Wuhan in COVID Doc 76 Days |url=http://povmagazine.com/articles/view/tiff-talk-hao-wu-takes-audiences-to-the-frontlines-of-wuhan-in-covid-doc-76|access-date=2020-09-24|work=Point of View Magazine|date=10 September 2020 |language=en}} It continued through the gradual return of order and ended after the lockdown was officially lifted on April 8.

During the lockdown, access to hospitals was restricted to only patients, medical professionals and reporters. A few of the hardest-hit hospitals only allowed reporters and filming crews thoroughly vetted by the authorities.{{Cite news|last1=Qin|first1=Amy|last2=Wee|first2=Sui-Lee|date=2020-03-06|title='No Way Out': In China, Coronavirus Takes Toll on Other Patients|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/03/world/asia/china-coronavirus-cancer.html|access-date=2020-09-24|issn=0362-4331}} However, strict controls were not applied uniformly to all hospitals or throughout the entire lockdown period. Early in the lockdown when the situation was dire and chaotic and there was a severe shortage of medical supplies, many hospitals actually welcomed media exposure to help them look for help. Some of the medical teams sent from elsewhere in China to support Wuhan were also open to being filmed, partly due to their desire to have their own images documented in this historical moment.

As the producer and director, Wu found his two co-directors in mid-February{{Cite web|last=Gui|first=de Mulder|title=76 DAYS (2020) - Hao Wu Exclusive Interview|website=YouTube |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qa9Xi7BM_d8}} while researching a pandemic film for a U.S. network. Both had started filming within Wuhan in early February. They collaborated by sharing daily rushes and discussing filming strategies online. By late March, however, the media environment in China over COVID-19 narratives was severely tightened due to increasing geo-political tension, so the two of them decided to stop collaborating with Wu. He then began editing the co-directors’ footage while under quarantine in Atlanta and after the U.S. network had dropped the project he had been developing. Wu approached the two of them once he had completed a rough cut. They eventually agreed to collaborate with him to complete the film.

Just like the healthcare workers in this film, the co-directors Chen Weixi and Anonymous had to put on personal protective equipment every day, which was very uncomfortable to wear, was hard to breathe in and made them feel sick at times. Once they were in the contamination zone, they had to stay there for hours at a time, with no bathroom breaks, just like the doctors and nurses. Every night after filming they would go through a thorough disinfection ritual and go back to rest alone in hotels reserved for front-line workers. They described their existence during the lockdown as an exhausting one, both physically and emotionally.{{Cite web|last=AsiaNews.it|title='76 days', a film about horror and heroism in Wuhan|url=http://www.asianews.it/news-en/%2776-days%27%2C-a-film-about-horror-and-heroism-in-Wuhan-51078.html|access-date=2020-09-24|website=www.asianews.it}}

The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 14, 2020.{{cite web|url=https://tiff.net/events/76-days|title=76 Days|website=Toronto International Film Festival|access-date=October 16, 2020}} Shortly after, MTV Documentary Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to the film.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/10/wuhan-china-documentary-mtv-documentary-films-toronto-festival-docu-76-days-1234596437/|title=MTV Documentary Films Acquires Toronto Docu '76 Days' On COVID Outbreak In Wuhan, China|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Mike Jr.|last=Fleming|date=October 13, 2020|access-date=October 16, 2020}} It also screened at the AFI Fest on October 16, 2020{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2020/10/afi-fest-2020-full-lineup-1234590916/|title=AFI FEST 2020 Announces Full Lineup, Including Majority Female-Directed Films|website=IndieWire|first=Kate|last=Erbland|date=October 6, 2020|access-date=October 16, 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://fest.afi.com/2020/documentary-2020/76-days#elevent|title=76 Days|website=AFI Fest|access-date=October 16, 2020}} and was the opening night film for the Double Exposure Film festival on October 14, 2020.{{Cite web|title=Films|url=https://dxfest.com/films/|access-date=2020-10-19|website=Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival and Symposium|language=en-US}} It was released in the United States on December 4, 2020.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2020/11/76-days-release-date-mtv-documentary-films-hao-wu-weixi-chen-1234608110/|title='76 Days': MTV Documentary Films Sets Release Date For COVID-19 Docu|date=November 2, 2020|author=Dino-Ray Ramos|website=Deadline Hollywood|access-date=November 2, 2020}}

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. The website's consensus reads, "A raw, fly-on-the-wall recounting of hospital life in Wuhan in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, 76 Days is an engrossing and potent documentary - and a surprisingly comforting portrait of humanity."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/76_days|title=76 Days (2020)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 84 out of 100, based on 23 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/76-days|title=76 Days|work=Metacritic|access-date=March 31, 2021}}

• 2020 Peabody Award{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5htE1mKck-o|title=Sanjay Gupta Presents 76 Days with a Peabody Award|via=www.youtube.com}}
• 2021 Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award{{Cite web|date=2021-09-14|title=Chinese-American Documentary on Wuhan Lockdown Wins Emmy Glory|url=https://radiichina.com/chinese-american-documentary-wins-emmy/|access-date=2021-09-15|website=RADII {{!}} Stories from the center of China’s youth culture|language=en-US}}

{{reflist}}

• {{official|https://www.76daysfilm.com}}
• {{IMDb title|12801326}}

{{EmmyAward Documentary Filmmaking}}

Category:2020 films

Category:2020 documentary films

Category:American documentary films

Category:Documentary films about the COVID-19 pandemic

Category:MTV Films films

Category:Chinese documentary films

Category:Primetime Emmy Award–winning broadcasts

Category:2020s American films

Category:COVID-19 pandemic in Wuhan

Category:Films set in Wuhan

Category:Films shot in Wuhan

Category:Documentary films about cities

Category:Documentary films about China

Category:American films about the COVID-19 pandemic