Lockdown In London
Script #19
|
Scene |
Captions in Bold, English in Blue, Phone in Italics |
1 |
Opening. Empty London streets |
|
2 |
Caption |
Nine million people live in London More than
200,000 are believed to be Arabic speakers |
3 |
Iyad continues playing & VO |
When you play in
front of a crowd there’s always
happiness It’s a beautiful
feeling to go on stage and play for people Because you’re
trying to communicate through your music To comfort
people and make them happy This is my aim
when playing To connect with
the crowd My last concert
was in London on March 2nd Then the
lockdown started All my concerts were cancelled |
4 |
Caption |
On March 24th
London entered lockdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic All schools
and businesses were shut Everyone was confined to their homes except essential workers like those in health and social care, transport, and food distribution. |
5 |
Iyad continues playing & VO |
London is not
like before It's not
frightening, but disturbing It’s not normal,
everyone is confused |
6 |
Title |
Lockdown in London |
7 |
Empty interior of house & weeping |
Day 12 |
8 |
Caption |
Osman Osman came to the UK from Sudan in 1993 |
9 |
|
My father has
passed away It's my duty to
pray over his body during the burial It’s a huge
loss. We’re very sad not to be at the funeral The way things are now, we had no choice It was a miracle
we could send his body back to
Sudan There was no way
to accompany the body We wanted that very much |
10 |
Caption |
Osman’s father, Dr Adil El Tayar, was the
first NHS (National Health Service) doctor to
die of the virus He was a surgeon who had volunteered to
treat Covid-19 patients His dying wish was to buried in his homeland |
11 |
|
We’re proud of
our father He was one of
the victims in the war against corona We ask God to
welcome him as a martyr I’m waiting for
my cousin to call He’s in Sudan.
He’ll open a live video call... so we can attend
the funeral and pray over
the dead . |
12 |
Caption |
Dr Adil El Tayar was well known in Sudan He set up a local transplant clinic and funding for poor medical students |
13 |
Caption |
Khartoum, Sudan |
14 |
|
We feel proud of
our father who passed away helping others He died for
something he used to live for We hope God will
accept his good works Mohammed, how
are you? We’re with you.
OK? OK This is
important for my younger brother He’s 14 years
old He has to accept Dad has passed away We buried him
and that’s it Osman? Yes, I’m with
you Now there’ll
be a prayer Just keep the
line open so we can stay with you If my father was
with me now, he’d have asked
me to be strong, and be the man of the house |
15 |
Caption |
Day 14 Prime
Minister Boris Johnson, in hospital with Covid-19, is admitted to intensive care |
16 |
Caption |
Day 18 In the last 24-hour period, 980 people have died of Covid-19 |
17 |
|
Normally at this
time, we’re busy the place is
packed with people Now there’s no
one, it’s a shutdown No one |
18 |
Caption |
Osama Osama came to the UK from the West Bank in 2003 |
19 |
Osama |
When this
situation started, I met with all
my staff, I said we had two choices: Go home and
isolate Or Create a relief
committee and volunteer Everyone agreed
to volunteer We’ll cook and
give food to people We’ve lived in
similar situations in Palestine We’ve gained
much experience during the war We’ve switched
focus We’ve converted
our restaurant into a distribution centre Hajjeh runs the
whole operation from here We distribute it How many
portions do we have today? 200 OK Today we’re
preparing food for hospitals The medical
staff take a long time to change their PPE
They’re stuck in the hospital so we take them food |
20 |
Osama |
It’s an
exceptional situation Many people need
to be fed So we must cook
and feed them Hajjeh lived in the camps during the war and the siege I have
experience of shortages Under siege with
no food, you have to cope You make sure
not to sleep on an empty stomach Our generation
grew up in war zones and under siege So we have
experience It's the same But in war, you
can see your enemy Now you can't
see the enemy From my point of
view, This
is about communicating our culture A culture of
austerity and helping others We learned from
the struggles back home We aren’t
risking our lives They’re fighting
on the front lines We try to support them |
21 |
Caption |
Day 19 So
far, 15 bus drivers have died in London
Many more are ill |
22 |
Public Announcement |
You should not be using public transport or travelling for anything other than essential journeys. Please maintain a safe distance if you are travelling. |
23 |
Susan |
When the
lockdown began here, a lady with a
big shopping bag approached me She asked me, Are you still
working during the lockdown? I told her, If I don’t,
who will take you home with all your shopping? |
24 |
Caption |
Susan Susan came to the UK from Iraq in 2003 |
25 |
|
Honestly, I’m
proud of myself, working during
this situation Even my daughter
fears for me But I tell her I
must work I’m taking
doctors, nurses and journalists to work Everyone who
needs buses In my depot, no
one has died But there are some in the next depot They passed away
they were young and dear to me You’re thankful
every day you have no symptoms But we’re always
afraid of tomorrow How much longer? Only God knows |
26 |
Caption |
Day 22 Total UK death toll passes 12,000 |
27 |
|
We desperately
need boxes Boxes,
gloves and masks Yes |
28 |
Caption |
A small group of volunteers are setting up a charity to help those in need during the lockdown |
29 |
|
We wrote concept
notes For the big donors and rich people Tell me if it’s good |
30 |
Caption |
Nisrine Nisrine came to the UK from Lebanon in 2006 |
31 |
|
If
the looming ghost of Covid-19 has told us anything it is that we need one
another to persist and continue to exist As a small group of volunteers we are putting together weekly food rations for distribution to anyone who has fallen between the cracks |
32 |
Caption |
Lara Lara, from Lebanon, came to the UK in 2018 |
33 |
|
I’ll start preparing boxes |
34 |
Caption |
The group plan to collect donations from individuals and local supermarkets to deliver food for those in need |
35 |
|
We’ll decide
what to put in and the cost A Lebanese aid
group told us what to give The local
council’s guidelines specified what to put in
On social media
I found 55 infected Lebanese
people Can you imagine,
55 families? We’re used to
experiences like war, and queuing to
get rations But here people
can’t get out We don’t know how many are in need |
36 |
Caption |
Bashar Bashar came to the UK from Jordan in 2006 |
37 |
|
My mum used to
tell me, pandemics are
like war People queued
for hours for a loaf of bread I queued for
bread in Kuwait when I was six My mum put all of us in the queue Me, my mum, my
sister They gave us
bread as hard as rock Throw it at a
wall, it bounces We're
experienced with this Those
stereotypes about Arabs, either we’re
abusing the system or we’re terrorists We must prove
we’re part of this society, and can play a
positive role We can bring good traits from our culture Let’s bring our
tradition to life When someone’s
in need, we help them Ramadan is
coming up Arabic
supermarkets are eager to donate during Ramadan Let's make this a meaningful Ramadan |
38 |
Caption |
Iyad Iyad came to the UK from Jordan in 2008 |
39 |
Iyad plays |
The first impact
of the lockdown was that all my
concerts were cancelled Universities
were closed. All venues were
closed We musicians
depend on concerts It’s difficult.
My whole life has changed Your life
changes, from concerts,
trips, teaching, to nothing Suddenly you’re
sitting at home It's frightening,
you don't know what to do I miss the routine It’s about
working for a purpose It’s a strange feeling |
40 |
Caption |
Every Thursday evening, millions of British people clap in support of medical staff and frontline workers |
41 |
Caption |
But the government still struggles to provide enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for doctors and nurses |
42 |
|
How are you, Mum? I’m OK, thank God |
43 |
Caption |
Osman, a doctor like his father, has to
decide when to return to work - despite the risks in the hospital |
44 |
|
I think I’ll go
back to work tomorrow Really? Yes No, Osman, for
the love of God, no The hospitals
are overwhelmed with cases Aren’t you
afraid you’ll give it to us? It's enough
losing your dad in these hospitals You
have to think about the rest of the house Honestly, this
is very frightening I don't want you to go back now |
45 |
|
Please, I don't
want you to go Why do you want
to return? Honestly,
there’s a shortage of
doctors Let things get
easier, stay for a
couple of weeks, then
decide If I and my colleagues sit at home, the hospital
will be empty Everyone is
suffering like my father I know, but it’s
their duty to give doctors protective
equipment They can get
infected too They must
provide PPE to stay safe Tomorrow I’ll
decide I know people's
lives depend on us But no one
should risk their lives If I don't take
the risk, who will help these people? |
46 |
|
Osman feels
responsible for his patients He feels he must go to help the sick What happened to
our father makes him feel
more responsible Like him, he
feels he must help the sick After what
happened, we need to be
together, close to each other, just supporting each other It’s like
sending your son to his death If he catches
it, he'll either recover or not This worries me I live in fear My father was
the first doctor to die from coronavirus
He caught it at the hospital It makes us
worry Every corner of
the house reminds us of him Definitely
everything has changed |
47 |
Caption |
Day 24 In the UK the number of people infected
with the virus passes 100,000 |
48 |
|
Hi,
Bibi How
was your day? Very
quiet, very boring. Are
the streets empty? Very
empty. The passengers they used to talk to us and say good morning, good
evening. Now nobody is talking, everybody just keeps quiet. Everybody is just
worried. How
many passengers did you have today? I think it was thirty-four passengers the
whole day. The
whole day? It is really very scary, this situation. |
49 |
Susan |
When people started
dying with the virus, I was thinking: Why should I go
out? Why should I leave
my daughter home alone? She was only
eight when her father died She has no one
in this country except me And God of course Sometimes I
can't even sleep If I get the
virus and die, who will take
care of my daughter? In the end I
convinced myself Why should I
lose my job because of a
virus? We have to fight
it It's something
we Arabs take pride in Arabs are willing to sacrifice their lives for the country We want to work and earn our living |
50 |
Iyad zoom |
Hi, Mum. How are
you and Dad? How is
Ramadan? Fine, thank God How’s your
work, your teaching? OK, I give all my lessons online It’s more difficult I think
universities will stay closed until September Everything is
closed There’ll be no
concerts till the end of the year We were
hoping you might return I wish I could
come to Amman and spend Eid
with you When things improve, we’ll be together |
51 |
L & N |
This is for a
family of five, three children
and two ladies They have no
source of income They left home because of domestic violence |
52 |
Caption |
Lara and Bashar are expecting a baby in the autumn |
53 |
|
This work
doesn’t affect my pregnancy The opposite It's the biggest
lesson I’ll teach my
daughter You must help,
like it or not If
you are healthy, you’re fine, you have a roof over your head, this is your
social responsibility to help other people who need it. We will be raising our girl in a
western world I want to keep
our beautiful Arabic traditions of helping other people This
something we grew up seeing We should pass this on |
54 |
Osama on the way to the hospital |
We’re going to
UCL hospital, where most
corona cases are Many doctors go
to our restaurant It’s opposite
the hospital They call to tell us what’s going on inside So we have a connection |
55 |
Caption |
Osama provides meals to the medical staff for free, using the money he gets from selling takeaway food |
56 |
Nurses (English) |
Hey
boss Yes,
it’s halal Chicken Yes,
chicken How
many of you? 5? I
would say the atmosphere is kind of... Working
with people that you like, you love You
know they are colleagues we work with every day So
the atmosphere is good in itself, it’s very positive But
it’s…it’s chaotic at times though Some
of our patients are pretty poorly I
think reality hits us every single time we come into the hospital Every
single time we leave the house The
scary part is just the fact that we’ve just been put on the frontline It’s
like this is what you have to do now, jump into it I
guess that’s the scary part, innit We have less time to cook when you get home cause you are knackered |
57 |
|
So
it’s lovely people out here The
problem is you don’t have to time to go out and find anything, and everything
is closed When
Holly told me today that you were dropping us food we were like, OMG Because
like I forgot my lunch I
didn’t bring lunch because…no one has We
don’t have time The
shops are closed when we finish as well You
can’t even buy food when we finish I haven’t been able to buy eggs for two weeks |
58 |
Osama with nurses |
This makes you feel part of this fight, I can’t be on
the frontline There are no
places to eat at or to buy food People must come together to support each other |
59 |
|
How are you? Are
you well? Yes, thank you |
60 |
Caption |
Nisrine and Bashar are delivering food to a Sudanese woman whose husband has died recently |
61 |
|
Are you and the
kids fine, feeling safe? We’re ok Do you have any
relatives to talk to? No, they’re in
Sudan. So you’re on
your own? Yes Now you have us Call us whenever. If you feel down, call us Thank you. God
bless you She said her
husband passed away 10
months ago It’s hard to be
alone with two children She has no one No relatives.
Her family are in Sudan We’re here, Nisrine Nisrine, my
dear, you’re doing good If it wasn't for
self-distancing, I’d hug you You’re doing
well, my dear We do what we
can This work needs
resilience You
made someone's day Now we’ll make someone else's day Let's stay
positive We’re delivering
food and happiness Let’s deliver
happiness and security And strength |
62 |
Osama at
hospital |
We distributed
250 portions They’re soldiers
in war People should
support them They’re in the
middle of the battle All the
intensive care cases are on their ward
When I call,
they ask who it is I say it’s the
Prime Minister of Palestine I tell them the
President of Lebanon too |
63 |
Caption |
DAY 33 The number of new infections begins to slow as deaths pass 20,000 |
64 |
Nisrine zoom |
Hello Hi How are you? Perfect How’s the baby? |
65 |
Caption |
Nisrine’s sister, Nadine, lives in Dubai |
66 |
|
How does the
lockdown feel when you’re pregnant? We’re doing
nothing We need a
police permit to go for a walk Or to go
shopping Go without masks and gloves, you’re fined 1000 dirhams |
67 |
|
How have we arrived at this state of
affairs? How do you feel about giving birth during the corona
era? Horror Horror Because it doesn’t matter if they say there’s no danger for newborn babies But a mother’s intuition says it’s a weak
little baby I can’t control my feelings My family can’t be here The support I was relying on isn’t here You’re making me cry The
plan was for Dad and me to be there when you give birth God willing, the airports will reopen and I’ll
come I love you[1] |
68 |
Iyad plays |
Music |
69 |
|
My mum is
stressed about me returning to work I have to
convince her life must return to normal This time of
day, the streets are
crowded, people going to
work, children going to school It's not the
same now, they’re empty The world is
upside down My trip to work used to be happy It's different
now The journey has lost its happy flavour |
70 |
Caption |
Day 38 The government announces that the UK has passed ‘the peak of the disease’ |
70A |
Lara zoom |
Hi Mum, how are
you? We’re well,
thank God We hear there
are many cases in London Even the
Prime Minister And Prince
Charles too The numbers are
frightening, but it's slowing now They couldn't
care for them all in the hospitals I feel your
initiative puts you in danger Going out
when you are pregnant I’m careful,
it's not a game, mama A couple of days
ago I was sad It was Dad's
anniversary Yesterday or the
day before? It was the
27th I dreamt he was
holding my daughter I woke up I felt he was
happy God rest his
soul, but life must go on It’s
important you keep good memories of him Dad would
have loved you helping people You've kept his tradition alive |
71 |
Dance |
We
are giving food to the guys at this hospital and they are doing the Tik Tok challenge To
entertain themselves while they stay safe And
we are feeding them because, as you know, an army doesn’t run on an empty
stomach Guys,
the winner will get chicken with rice Just
a practice yeah? One,
two, three, go You
haven’t even pressed play, have you? This
week is getting really busy at the moment so to take time out To
do a quick two minute Tik Tok challenge Just
to relieve us, to say we are having a good time With
all the sad things that are happening in A&E at the moment We
got you the music from the ambulance Music It’s
all wonderful Here
you go Thank
you, you are so lovely You’re
welcome Chicken Girls,
are you all done here? You
keep some for the night staff, OK? You must always keep the team’s morale high, through music
and movement Things which
convert ideas into actions There are many
ideas, books, words, but actions
speak louder We’re translating words into action |
72 |
Nurse |
He came to us last week some time and when he came and delivered the food, I pleaded with him, saying that the night shift, the nurses and doctors are not getting any food. On Monday he delivered a whole lot of food for the night shift. Which was good because the night shift really appreciated it. |
73 |
Osman outside
hospital after dance |
We work harder
now Because our idea
of work is to start early and do something positive Not to make
money I learned this when I was in Palestine under the Occupation The idea was to
go out and do something, benefit someone,
make someone smile Take part in
life This is what’s
important Guys,
would like some chicken? OK, enjoy. |
74 |
Caption |
Day 43 At 29,427 the UK death toll is now the highest in Europe |
75 |
Osman back from work |
The first day at
work was a little tense Most of the team
were dealing with coronavirus patients
When I entered
intensive care, it felt like a
movie I'd never seen
that many patients Each one very sick You have a duty
to fulfil But when I
looked at the patients, I was reminded of my father This apple tree was Dad's favourite He used to water
it He loved
gardening Every time I’m
at the hospital, I ask myself, If my father was
here what would he
do? I’m sure he was
the kind of person whose priority
was his patients These thoughts
give me the courage to continue doing my duty |
76 |
Cadogan Hall |
One of my first
concerts in London was in this hall This brings back
many memories I always have
nightmares before I go on stage Like I forgot my
shoes Or I'm playing
to an empty hall Ironic
really Because this is
the state of the arts today No audience It's strange Everyone has
been affected All artists, all
musicians, everyone When I play in a
concert hall, people forget It’s not just
the artist There are the
staff and the sound engineers All have lost
their jobs Even after the
lockdown, people won’t attend The fear will
still be there |
77 |
Lara & baby clothers |
So
cute. Baby So
nice. Tiny
feet. It’s
so nice We just want her
to be born into a normal world Into a safe
world We’ll tell her
what happened before she was born I
am not panicking, I am just not at ease If I give birth
and my mum or yours can’t come There’s a huge
responsibility on me There are many
things I don't know I’m
just panicking Washing a baby and all those things |
78 |
Caption |
Day 48 Boris Johnson announces an easing of the lockdown |
79 |
BJ speaking to nation |
This
is not the time simply to end the lockdown this week. Amazing So
work from home if you can, but you should go to work if you can’t work from
home. And when I look at what you’ve done already, when I think of the millions
of everyday acts of kindness and thoughtfulness which are being performed
across this country and that have helped to get us through this first phase… That’s
us I
know we can use this plan to get us through the next. Thank you very much. |
80 |
|
I’m
done with trying to analyse what they want from us Be
clear with us, tell us what you want Tell
us how we’re expected to live our lives We just need to
work There
are a few measures we have to take We
take them We’ll
be extremely careful We
can’t stress about things we can’t control We
can’t control coronavirus We
can’t do it I know. |
81 |
Susan zoom |
I’m worried
about you, my dear sister You’re
working in the transport sector, which exposes
you to the virus I can’t hide my fear for you and your daughter |
82 |
Caption |
Susan’s sister, Najat, lives in Morocco |
83 |
|
This Ramadan
is different Now we’re
anxious about our future Najat, you know
what people here are worried
about? That this
becomes normal life This pandemic
has some positive effects On social and
humanitarian levels, it’s made
people review their behaviour To correct
their mistakes I agree with you
100% Thank you, my dear sister |
84 |
Caption |
Day 57 Chancellor Rishi Sunak warns of a ‘severe recession' |
85 |
Osama in restaurant |
We’re clearing space so we can eat
together for Eid Yesterday we went to the mosque to give
Iftar We saw families with no food at all They have no documents, no source of income These stories have come out of
the shadows It's upsetting All these people from... Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Palestine, Jordan, Somalia... they came because they lost hope They came to find something better We’re trying to help but we have limited resources Like the saying: Your eyes can see but your hands
can’t reach This Eid is different Corona has taken over You must open different
boxes: the exile box, the corona box, the depression box, the box of financial pressure Then you see Eid. You say, hi Eid, is that you? By the time you find Eid, you’re exhausted[2] |
|
Lara, Nisrine & Bashar wrapping presents for Eid |
With all the presents, it'll be a special Eid for the kids If we were back home I'd have bought them fireworks too |
86 |
Susan in the bus |
|
87 |
Caption |
Day 61 Ramadan ends, Eid celebrations begin |
88 |
|
Guys, we’re all gathered together Happy Eid to all
of you Despite the
virus, Ramadan has ended fine It’s made Eid
twice as special It's been a
difficult time Nowhere to
worship, no friends or relatives It’s been a sad month, but I’m sure it will get better |
89 |
|
I hope my music
shows my appreciation to all the key
workers, to all who lost
someone dear, to all who have been hurt by this crisis God willing, my
music will provide peace, and pass on my
gratitude everyone is grateful |
90 |
|
I wish you a
happy Eid. May God fulfil
your wishes This photo was
our last Eid with Dad He looks like
you It’s a sad and
strange Eid We still need to
thank God and bless Dad's soul I’ll always be
here when you need me, through the
happy times and sad We have each
other and our family too Little brother,
you're in charge after me If I'm not here,
you have to cover the bills OK? I'm happy you'll
take that off my hands |
91 |
Lara & Nisrine |
Hello! Happy Eid It’s so nice to
see you, with all the social distancing Even better for
me to see you Don't cry We want say we
haven't forgotten you I’m very
grateful to you, Lara, Nisrine and everyone |
92 |
Credits |
With thanks to Iyad Sughayer – Pianist Osman El Tayar – Doctor Osama Qashoo – Restaurant owner Susan Packwood – Bus driver Lara Assi – Production coordinator Nisrine Jaafar – Teacher Bashar Zeedan – Publisher Somerset House Cadogan Hall Shangri-La Restaurant, The Shard Research Raneem Hannoush Vanessa Bowles Translator Saman Jaff Camera Namak Khoshnaw Additional footage Mohamed Tohami Sound recordist Michal Kuligowski Drone Operator Charlie Baigent Online Editor Dominic McMahon Dubbing Mixer Andrew Sears Production Co-ordinator Khulood Alansi Junior Production Manager Nardia Millington Production Manager Maria Caramelo |
|
|
Additional Film Editor Ian Garvin
Film Editor Becky Way Executive Editor Tim Awford TV Documentaries Editor Christopher Mitchell Producer Emir Nader
Executive Producer Tom Roberts
Produced & Directed by Namak Khoshnaw |