BELOW: Easter Social Distance egg hunt. Can you find the Easter eggs? Yesterday facial masks became mandatory in LA when people visit essential businesses. After weeks of social distancing the curve is bending but it's also stretching according to Governor Newsom. California - and the US - hasn't reached its peak yet. GOOD NEWS: in the next few weeks an antibody test will be rolled out says Dr Anthony Fauci. HAPPY EASTER and STAY SAFE from all of us at We are moving stories!

BELOW: In Los Angeles even the homeless population is expected to follow social distancing. Here a man sleeps between the two blue Xs which promote the physical distance at which people need to stand (or lie down) to follow guidelines. Photo: Carmela Baranowska: LA 4/4/20

BELOW: In Korea Town, Los Angeles, a makeshift - and illegal - dispensary sells KN95 face masks, gloves and sanitizers alongside women’s shoes. The KN95 mask, sold here, has not been authorized by the FDA but is widely manufactured and used in China. On Wednesday 1 April, 2020 when this photo was taken, 1000 people in the US died from COVID-19 in a single day. Many health professionals and government leaders are calling for face masks to become mandatory. Photo by Carmela Baranowska LA:

LETTER FROM LA is part of a COVID-19 special report initiative by We Are Moving Stories, the world’s largest online platform for new voices in film with over 2,500 contributors and more than 50% women’s participation - an industry record. We will work with photographers and filmmakers in both the US and internationally to license unique images and footage of the Covid-19 Crisis to media outlets. We are also seeking emergency funding from organizations and philanthropies which share and amplify our aims. Please contact Executive Producer Carmela Baranowska direct for more info: cabaranowska@protonmail.com Thank you and hope to hear from you very soon

BELOW: CVS pharmacy, Korea Town, LA. It’s difficult to buy face masks and sanitizers here. Plastic between the pharmicist and customer promotes social distance guidelines. Photo by Carmela Baranowska - LA: 4/2/20

Los Angeles
28 March 2020

Dear filmmakers,

Covid-19 is the biggest story of our lifetime. It’s a war where the enemy is everywhere and nowhere at once. It’s a pandemic which potentially reaches across and inside every single community in the world - in both metropolitan cities and far-flung places.

As many of you know I am the founder and executive producer at We Are Moving Stories, the world’s biggest online platform for new voices in film with over 2,500 contributors and more than 50% women’s participation – an industry record. (Before that I worked as a video journalist in conflict zones like East Timor, Indonesia and Afghanistan.)

Covid-19 has been an unstoppable force in our film making community - from LA to London, Paris to Melbourne, Madrid to Vancouver; and across all continents. In LA the industry has come to a sudden halt. Like many our plans at We Are Moving Stories were also abruptly altered and postponed by the virus.

We are currently pivoting We Are Moving Stories to focus on Covid-19. (We will still upload filmmaker profiles but at a reduced level). While the pandemic has torn through communities in China, Italy and Spain the epicenter is now in the United States.

The country is little prepared. There is a shortage of hospital beds, ventilators and masks. Because of enforced social distancing many businesses have closed. Three million people are now unemployed with over 1 million in California. The $3 trillion stimulus package will only cover one off payments which, in some places, are not even enough to pay one month’s rent.

In Los Angeles we are two weeks away from the fate of New York City - and even before the crisis began 90% of ICU beds were already filled. In the next 6-14 days California will run out of hospital beds...

At We Are Moving Stories we are close to launching an updated platform and we are asking for your help in four different ways. We are urgently hurtling towards a proof of concept. At this stage we will seek to help license all footage received to third parties.

1. News: In the US news is defined as an essential service. We plan to cover stories that are not being told. If you or your filmmaker friends have skills and experience in this area please contact us direct.

2. If you are self-isolating and have a unique story about Covid-19 please contact us direct.

3. If you have produced a film in the past that is directly relevant to our current situation please let us know.

4. If you have worked as a production manager/producer scheduling large, international online projects or if you have executive experience in licensing agreements (so we don't re-invent the wheel) please contact us.

Thanks so much for your time, stay safe and I hope to hear from you very, very soon!

Yours Sincerely,

Dr Carmela Baranowska
Founder and EP
www.wearemovingstories.com
direct email: cabaranowska@protonmail.com