Come Home Soon ( 2020 | 9m48s | Canada)
Monica Mak and Shiva Shoeybi are pleased to be the recipients of the 2020 Canada Council Digital Originals grant to help artists during the COVID-19 pandemic. Through the financial assistance of the Canada Council for the Arts, they have created a web documentary short entitled Come Home Soon
In our documentary, our kids – my daughters Siobhan and Chelsea and Shiva’s son Zaman – create and narrate two sci-fi tales, in order to cope with their anxiety about their fathers’ jobs as doctors in the ICU ward, and their direct exposure to COVID+ patients. Real life footage of these children’s daily lives during the pandemic, along with hand-drawn illustrations, bring their stories to life and reflect on their new normal.
RATIONALE
Every single one of us is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The film’s ultimate message of resilience, courage and hope for the future could resonate with audiences of all ages and backgrounds. But as the film is told from the perspective of our children, Shiva and I want to reach out, in particular, to web viewers who are youth themselves. These are young people who might feel isolated and stressed by fear over sickness, or sadness by an actual death in the family. Through the power of the media arts, in the form of documentary short, streamed over a digital platform, we strive to advance the arts to younger audiences. And we strive to do so by focusing on an issue of relevance to them, and to all of humanity, at the moment.
To watch the full film, click HERE.