The Virus Empire
(1) Silent Killers - Docu-Drama
Viruses are the biggest killers in the world. In the 20th Century more people died from viral infections than from all the wars around the globe. With reconstructions, The Virus Empire uncovers how these invisible enemies are spread and the science behind them. Using a mix of dramatized sequences, interviews with top experts and breathtaking 3D animations from inside the body The Virus Empire uncovers how these invisible enemies spread.
The Virus Empire uses an exciting mix of dramatized sequences, visually appealing reportage elements, interviews with top experts worldwide and breathtaking 3D animations from inside the body. In 2003, SARS broke out in Hong Kong to then conquer the world. It was a Chinese physician, Dr. Liu who infected 17 hotel guests within a few hours, who then dispersed the lethal virus throughout the world within a few days.
Quickly scientists around the world suspected that the SARS epidemic could grow to the extent of the „Spanish Flu“ epidemic in 1918. That worldwide epidemic took a death toll of 50 million people. Two and a half times as many as the horrific First World War, which ended the same year.
The film tells also the heartbreakig story of the Italian doctor Carlo Urbani, who infected himself with SARS during his work against the virus. He had just recently been awarded with the Noble Peace Prize, with his organization „Doctors Without Frontiers“. Urbani died from SARS, before the virus was finally identified and killed off.
World experts such as Nathan Wolfe from L.A., Albert Osterhaus from Rotterdam, Christian Drosten from Hamburg or John Oxford from London are talking about the never-ending fight against the silent killers.
The Virus Empire uses an exciting mix of dramatized sequences, visually appealing reportage elements, interviews with top experts worldwide and breathtaking 3D animations from inside the body. In 2003, SARS broke out in Hong Kong to then conquer the world. It was a Chinese physician, Dr. Liu who infected 17 hotel guests within a few hours, who then dispersed the lethal virus throughout the world within a few days.
Quickly scientists around the world suspected that the SARS epidemic could grow to the extent of the „Spanish Flu“ epidemic in 1918. That worldwide epidemic took a death toll of 50 million people. Two and a half times as many as the horrific First World War, which ended the same year.
The film tells also the heartbreakig story of the Italian doctor Carlo Urbani, who infected himself with SARS during his work against the virus. He had just recently been awarded with the Noble Peace Prize, with his organization „Doctors Without Frontiers“. Urbani died from SARS, before the virus was finally identified and killed off.
World experts such as Nathan Wolfe from L.A., Albert Osterhaus from Rotterdam, Christian Drosten from Hamburg or John Oxford from London are talking about the never-ending fight against the silent killers.
Facts
Shot in original locations in Germany, Switzerland, France, Danmark, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ukraine, the USA, Brazil, Gabon, Kongo, Hongkong and Indonesia.
First aired 13th November 2008, 20.15 pm, ARTE / 4th May 2009, 20.15 pm, ARD
Credits
Written, directed and produced by: Petra Höfer, Freddie Röckenhaus and Francesca D’Amicis
Cast: Bernhard Bauer (Carlo Urbani), Ilaria Restifo (Giuliana Urbani), Hiromi Tojo (Prof. Liu), Sheng Yang (Johnny Chen), Ya Li Abbrederis (Frau Kwan)
Director of Photography: Johannes Imdahl, Samir Saad, Thomas Schäfer, Marcus von Kleist, Sean Healey, Axel Petrovan
Video Editor: Jörg Wegner
Line Producer: Svenja Mandel
Narration: Benjamin Völz
Commissioning Editors: Britta Susann Lübke (Radio Bremen), Gabriele Conze (WDR Cologne)
A colourFIELD production commissioned by Radio Bremen, ARTE, WDR Cologne
