HERE COMES THE SUN - Film about the Real Heroes

I know. We are all tired of COVID and want to forget it forever. But we must not forget heroic deeds along with the pandemic.

It is our turn to take a stand for the heroes who were there for us in the time of the greatest need.

 

 

I am Kris Kaspar, a film director living in NYC. My wife was an ICU resident doctor in a ‘Death Zone’ hospital in The Bronx during the first and most brutal 2020 New York COVID outbreak. That was the ‘Black Spring,’ when people were dying in hospital corridors because the ICUs were full and patients couldn't see any faces at all, only dashing masks and goggles. The situation was so dire that hospitals needed to call refrigerator trucks and pack the bodies in with forklifts, sometimes on the street and some of the dead had to be buried in mass graves on Hart Island.

 

I had to watch the love of my life return to the ‘Death Zone’ day after day as she battled a brand new virus without tests or proper protective equipment, putting her life and our future on the line. Frustration and fear became a regular part of our existence. We fought our internal battles every day to overcome the struggle of accepting our unique roles in this war. This is why I started to write our story.

 

Short synopsis:

During the brutal 2020 Covid outbreak in New York, a frontline resident doctor and her husband must face love, death, fear and helplessness before her next 24-hour shift in the ‘Death Zone’.

 

Please watch this 4 mins proof of concept we made from three scenes of the feature script:

Where does our donation go?

 

We are raising money for an indie drama feature film that presents a true and authentic story about the dreadful battle that all the healthcare workers had to fight behind closed doors every single day between their shifts.

We already have a small budget together, but we are looking to raise funds to flesh out and allow us to really make this vital film properly. Your support will help us:

 

 

In short, the more support we get, the higher our production value will be, which helps get the movie to the most people worldwide.

 

Please do not forget to share this fundraiser even if you cannot donate.

 

We are grateful for every tiny cent that supports us, and we can use any other kind of help we can get (if you are interested, please click on the ‘volunteer’ button on the film’s website).

 

 

MORE ABOUT THE STORY / BACKGROUND

 

 

(My wife's masks under the sun beam, she had to wear one N95 for a week - 2020 March - original photo)

 

My wife was depressed constantly due to the toll of both exhaustion and the countless deaths, but especially due to the never-ending feeling of helplessness. They were unable to save people no matter how hard or relentlessly they tried. No lunch, no pause, no chance to process or grieve.

Just running from one dying patient to another.

Imagine telling a suffocating mother that her 30-something-year-old daughter (mother of two) just died on the bed next to her.

 

 

(Folding my wife's scrubs for her - 2020 March - original photo)

 

Due to shortages, she had to follow a protocol, deciding who got one of the precious few ventilators - giving them a slight chance to live - and who did not. Choosing between people, between families, and shouldering the responsibility.

 

 

(My wife's separated laundry bag - 2020 April - original photo)

 

After she got home in the mornings from her interminable shift, she put her scrubs into a separate laundry bag. The N95 mask she wore for 24 hours left brutal, bleeding marks on her nose and deep bruises on her beautiful face.

(Still Picture - Here Comes The Sun - proof of concept)

 

After a long shower, even though she was dead tired, she started to read the newest studies about the virus right away, desperately looking for a cure or at least a silver lining right up until she passed out.

 

(My wife fell asleep on the couch after a 24 hours shift while she was reading COVID studies - 2020 May - original photo)

 

Then the nightmares came.

 

She was working in her restless sleep. I watched her toss and tumble while she shouted desperate orders or tried to calm panicking families down in her dreams.

 

After her 29-year-old and otherwise healthy resident colleague was put on oxygen in the ICU, the fear of infecting me obsessed her. When she was awake, she monitored herself continuously and didn’t let me touch her for months, at a time when she needed a cuddle the most.

 

I wanted to ease her struggles so much…

…but I couldn’t. Besides clumsily comforting her.

I even made up stupid songs and “played them” on guitar, trying to make her smile (I am super bad at singing and even worse with the guitar).

Sometimes it helped a bit.

I was ashamed to realize how worthless we, the artists, can become in a time of war.

 

(Still Picture - Here Comes The Sun - proof of concept)

 

Because it was war.

(More than 3600 US healthcare workers died of COVID-19 in a year (115,000 worldwide). For reference: 1922 US troops died due to hostile action in the longest US conflict - the 20 years lasting conflict in Afghanistan.)

 

After typing ‘The End’, I gave it the title ‘HERE COMES THE SUN’ as the famous Beatles hit.

This song was played all over that hospital in the ‘Hot Zone’ after they could finally take a Covid patient off of the ventilator. The first one who survived after many weeks of desperate fighting.

 

They wanted everybody to know there was hope in the Valley of Death.

 

Please donate and join us to make this feature film a reality.

Let the heroes know that we, the people, did not forget the sacrifice they have made for us!

Let this film be a part of their closure…

…and ours.

 

Thank you very much, and God bless every healthcare worker

 

www.herecomesthesunfilm.com