Pag-ibig sa Panahon ng Coronavirus (Love in the Time of the Coronavirus)

About the Film

HD, romantic comedy, 11 mins., 2020

During the first month of the coronavirus outbreak when people around the campus start the semester wearing face masks, a paranoid guy who takes extra care of himself with frequent handwashing tries to rekindle an old flame upon meeting his teen crush who is currently recovering from flu.

Trailer

Abstract

In a time of paranoia when an epidemic, eventually becoming a pandemic, threatens humanity, the reportedly deadly viral infection causing typical flu symptoms called NCOV-19 instigate fear in people. In trying to protect themselves based on what they know and the information they get from various sources, there seems to be something psychologically reassuring with wearing face masks being an instinctively reliable way to shield themselves from the virus.

Besides the health and economic impacts of wearing these face masks, these people find themselves less able to identify the other people around them. They even avoid cultural and religious actions such as holding hands and shaking hands with strangers, as well as kissing and hugging friends and family members. They are now more transparent in instantly going farther away from potentially sick people more than ever. Indeed, people now avoid more intimate interactions which clearly affect the dynamics of human relationships. This doesn’t even account for the fear of getting out to be human enough to enjoy life, work freely, and learn more about life outside the home. As more fear creeps in, people cover themselves more…

In the case of Jacob and Silay in the story, they didn’t even recognize each other right away because of their face masks. As paranoia ensues, knowing each other more as they discuss their group report clearly supports the importance of communication and human interaction to build essential relationships. As they open up, they become more human who become more and more engrossed in a conversation. They don’t always agree with each other, but it feels good because they feel more human. They eventually admit never having a chance to explore a potential romance during their teen years. Going beyond the face mask barrier, they forget about what covers their faces. The final scene shows an ironically sweet but somewhat disturbing picture of what this viral outbreak brings to human relationships at a time of fear and paranoia.

Production Team

Jacob "Jay" de Guzman		Fred Layno
Silay Bonifacio		Kathleen Mack
Professor		John Clifford Sibayan
Classmate		Paul Uy

Director/Camera Operator/Editor/Colorist		Rianne Hill Soriano
Producers		Monique Mangente
		John Clifford Sibayan
		Rianne Hill Soriano
		Paul Uy
Director of Photography		Paul Uy
Production Designer/Assistant Director		Monique Mangente
Screenwriter		John Clifford Sibayan
Production Manager		Monique Mangente
Field Sound Recordists		Monique Mangente
		Paul Uy
Sound Engineer/Musical Scorer		Philip Arvin Jarilla
OST Composer/Arranger		Philip Arvin Jarilla
OST Performer		Richard Genabe

Production Notes

"Pag-ibig sa Panahon ng Coronavirus" was conceptualized and produced in the first two months of the COVID-19 epidemic, which was eventually declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) two weeks after the production of this film. It is the filmmaker's third film as a graduate student (MA Media Studies major in Film) at the University of the Philippines Film Institute (UPFI). What started as a long-take class project ended up as an 11-minute project with a one-take, seven-minute shot final sequence . The story was conceptualized by her group for their Directing class.

This project is her first film shot with a mobile phone. She and the rest of the production team used the app FiLMicPro with an iPhone 7 Plus to shoot the film.