#WhatIsDayNine

Day Nine is an international web series anthology that looks at how people change when reasons beyond their control remove their freedom.

The coronavirus lockdown of Spring 2020 brought up a lot of difficult emotions. Fear. Uncertainty. Grief. Disbelief. That the world could change, and that the things we counted on - work, connecting with friends and family, freedom, toilet paper (!) - could disappear in an instant.

And as creative people, it also brought with it a sense of being stuck. A fear of losing momentum. The fear that if we couldn’t practice our craft, what would happen to our hard-earned skills?

We decided to challenge ourselves - and our international web series peers - to put together a series of stories set in a storyworld that was emotionally resonant with our current situation, but that wasn’t about a pandemic. Because who wants to watch a pandemic story when you’re living one? But we knew we wanted to see stories about people adapting to and unusual circumstance that was beyond our control. Which is how Day Nine was born.

So we invited international filmmakers to collaborate with us. To tell a story of their own devising, set in the Day Nine storyworld. It could be any genre, any tone - but it had to be shot using the equipment, crew and talent they had available to them, within their own jurisdiction’s lockdown rules.

So that meant shooting on phones. Or web cams. Or, in some cases, broadcast-quality camera gear, because our filmmakers already owned it. It also meant using family members - even pets - as talent and crew. And our own homes, vehicles and backyards as locations and inspiration. Which has made for intimate, surprising and remarkably varied stories.

And for a storyworld about aliens, it’s brought up so much about humanity, which is what the best stories always reflect.

Special Thanks

Sheena Rossiter, David Baron, Samantha Quantz, Mary-Lou Drachenberg, Joel Taras, Rob Hislop, Bonni Pierce, Paul Huculak, Elyne Quan, Twilla MacLeod, Gregory Shimizu, Joe Raffa, Mark Kandborg, Jillian Kaliel, Alexandre Décade, Scott C. Bourgeois, Owen Bishop, Lisa Spencer Cook, Nicole Grainger, Justin Deveau, Lee Min Kuk, Morgan Smith, Barbara Mah