15 Days Documentary Debuts at USC Amidst Fires
A Standing Ovation... Wow!
On Saturday, amidst the backdrop of devastating wildfires that ravaged Pacific Palisades, Malibu, and were threatening the Valley areas, I was a presenter at the USC Censorship in the Sciences Conference in Los Angeles. Despite the dire circumstances, the conference saw good attendance both in person and via Zoom (they will be posting the recording of the proceedings soon).
The highlight (for me, anyway) of the event was the debut screening of our documentary, 15 Days, which explores the impacts of the pandemic school closures - a project that has consumed the last three years of my life. I introduced the rough cut with nervous anticipation, and as the film played, the audience's reactions were palpable.
Feedback was overwhelmingly positive, and I even got a standing ovation at the end!
Here are some comments that reaffirmed why we made this film:
“I like the cinema verite aspect of the video, I was ready to cry a few times. My kids were older, they were out of school, I was not worried about the pandemic… But the kids talking about their experiences, that is so powerful and the parts about the parents realizing that the school officials didn’t have their kids’ best interests at heart.” - Ben, Washington
“What really stood out to me was how the film showed the different forces at play and how they came together to take advantage of the Covid pandemic to promote their own agendas that didn’t serve the interests of children. Seeing that was really disturbing.” - Azedeh, Los Angeles
“I thought the film was amazing, I was quite moved. My son was a junior in high school at that time and the pandemic completely derailed his experience. It is heartbreaking. It was heartbreaking. As a parent you really care about your kids and you want the best. School is not just about academics, it is also about socialization.” Erin, Los Angeles
“My general reaction to the film was being reminded how much the interest of children and young people was put on the backburner during 2020/21 and it is very important that we document what happened so we can prevent it from happening again. There is nothing out there that tells the story of school closures with this kind of effectiveness— there are books, I taught a course. We tend to memory hole, but a film like this will help us find more accountability and make sure kids are not deprioritized in policymaking again.” Anonymous academic at the conference (we didn’t get his name)
It was thrilling to watch this cut with my good friends
, and Houman Hemmati (with his beautiful family) all featured in the film, in the audience. Even in its unpolished state with sound yet to be mixed, the consensus was clear - this documentary is incredibly important and a necessary recounting of stories many have forgotten, and others never knew.We're in the final stretch to polish "15 Days" for release, providing we secure necessary post-production funding (filmmaking is so expensive and takes a long time). If you're in a position to support the work of our grassroots little film and post-production crew, please consider making a tax-deductible donation. Our goal is to have the film out by March.
Stay tuned for updates on our release date. I will be updating you all here on Substack and on X.
It was great to see you. Thanks for pouring your heart and soul into such an important project. I had already forgotten so much.
Congratulations Natalya and crew!!! Bravo! 👏