‘Coronavirus & Me’ Set as First Original Series at Iwonder Documentary Streamer

A collaborative series charting Australians’ experiences of the chaos and confusion unleashed by Covid-19 has been unveiled as the first original content production at documentary-specialist streaming platform iwonder.

“Coronavirus & Me” will make use of user-generated-content submissions, edited together to make short documentaries. These will evolve in real-time to reveal how society is adapting to the crisis, as well as to track an eventual path to a recovery. The first will be completed by the end of April.

Australia has 2,793 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, and 11 fatalities. Prime Minister, Scott Morrison last weekend announced the closure of the country’s borders and a virtual lockdown that he warned could last six months.

“To reflect the unknown nature of the unpredictable and ever-changing crisis, no end date or episode limit has been attached to the series, with the intention to continue publishing new episodes as long as the topic remains relevant and the appetite for stories continues,” iwonder said in a statement.

Contributors will not be paid. Iwonder promises instead to make a donation to the Australian Red Cross for each one used.

“As a source of information and entertainment, at a time when both are needed now more than ever, iwonder is fortunate to be in a position to tell everyday Australians’ Coronavirus stories from a deeply personal and unfiltered perspective,” said iwonder CEO James Bridges. “By opening up the iwonder platform to amateur and aspiring filmmakers, as well as everyone with a camera-phone and a unique story to share, Coronavirus & Me will help to capture this unique period in Australia’s history, told in real-time by those living through it.”

The company was founded by James Bridges, previously iflix’s founding chief content officer; former iflix chief business development officer Andreas von Maltzahn; and entrepreneur Mark Bridges. Early operations were restricted to Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, before an expansion last September took it other parts of Southeast Asia.

This article was first published here.