Spotlight: Coping with COVID-19, A Real Life Horror & Zombie Movie

By Gus Mollasis

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Okay. I’m sure you’re with me on this one. You can watch Tiger King on Netflix just so many times while you’re holed up during this Covid-19 crisis.  And while our beloved Sarasota Film Festival had to be delayed, and our thirst for good independent big screen films put on hold, two filmmakers and associates of the Sarasota Film Festival wanted to make sure the show would still go on—in their home and yours. 

Like many of us stuck inside, Paul and Petra Ratner were looking for new ways to connect with each other, their family, their community and their world.

That’s when the idea came to them to make a zombie movie. “We came up with it as a family,” says Petra. But it was really our boys who influenced us.” 

“I don’t think we would have necessarily come up with zombies if our boys weren’t so into zombies,” says Paul. 

The boys are the Ratner’s two young sons—Felix, 10 and Alfie, 4—the driving forces behind creating the World’s Largest Zombie Movie.

With their day jobs on hold just like everyone else, Petra and Paul had plenty of time to spend with their kids. The time was right. The times were wrong. What better time to come up with a fresh idea that could involve the whole family and the whole world?

During normal times, this high energy couple burns the candle at both ends, especially during the Sarasota Film Festival (SFF). Petra serves as the Director of Development and Events, and Paul serves as the Festival’s Managing Director. They were in the midst of finalizing last minute details for this year’s Festival when it was canceled (like every other event) until further notice. (SFF quickly organized the first-ever virtual festival which runs through May 3, 2020. For more info, visit sarasotafilmfestival.com.)  

Now, faced with a lot of time on their hands and bored children at home, the Ratners number one focus became finding creative ways to manage that time and come up with activities for themselves and their children. 

Advantage Ratners.  

These two creatives are both used to coming up with new concepts and events, and working with children. And they came up with one really big idea. 

According to Paul, it started with the idea to do “some sort of filming together.”  Thoughts evolved. What if they could engage other kids around the world to work on one big project—together—giving out assignments and ideas?

The idea for “the world’s largest movie” was born. 

Taking on projects like this one wasn’t foreign to Petra and Paul. “We’ve worked on and organized various concepts for kids, like the 48 Hour Film Project in Prague, which we ran for 8 years,” says Paul. “By teaching kids at the film camps, we found that if you give them a part of the story to choose from, it works really well. It offers kids a choice and it allows them to focus. It helps the children not become overwhelmed with too many scenarios that often accompany the creative process.”

But a zombie movie? It really made perfect sense. With people sheltering in place, everyone was feeling like they were living in a zombie movie anyway. Still, pulling off a project like this takes a lot of coordination

They started with a website where kids can register and used word of mouth and social media to spread the word. Kids are able to choose from one of the scenarios provided and choose to shoot a scene from their perspective right from their living room at home. Then the Ratners put it together to make the final films. 

The program is open to young filmmakers from around the world who will receive parts of the script and instructions. They’ll have a week to film that part of the story. The competition reminds everyone to stay safe at home and film work with the equipment, actors and props available to them at home—available tools like smartphones, tablets or laptops to help capture the story

And as all filmmakers and even zombies know it all starts with a story.

A story that in this case is cut up into various “edible zombie like parts’ to be digested and that will hopefully produce great films. And if doesn’t produce the next Walking Dead hit show or echo the brilliance of George Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead, then at least everyone had a good time making films together.   

A good time where the world’s kids collaborated to create and more importantly connect with each other by channeling their inner zombie. 

“There are roughly 30 different segments that are broken down into different categories. Zombie Action for example. Here we may see zombies fighting or attacking in the kitchen, or the bathroom, or in the garage,” says Paul. “Another experience the kids are really enjoying is filming it from the perspective of the zombies. Sometimes they are shooting it as confessional or as a diary, or from the point of view of those facing the challenges of living under zombie occupation.”

Something we can all relate to today.

And something both Philippe (Pippa) Schwimmer and her 10-year-old son Leo could relate to. When Pippa isn’t stuck at home, she helps run the Sarasota Trading Company in Burns Court. Leo attends Pine View School. 

With time on both their hands, this mother and son came into a great working relationship. “We did the make-up ourselves from stuff that we had around the house. It was really fun,” says Pippa. “From the scenarios, Leo chose zombies living their everyday life—shots and scenes of zombies playing chess and brushing their teeth.  It was so much fun and helped take our minds off things.  Playing another character makes you feel like you’re not stuck anymore.” 

Pippa Schwimmer says the time together also helped produce something else. 

“It gave us a real chance to bond. We always work well together. It gave us a chance to do things like cooking and arts and crafts. And there are a lot of things that Leo does that I don’t usually like—such as playing video games. But this was actually something that we could do together. It was a lot of fun.” 

On the future, who knows? “I think Leo liked making a film. I don’t know if he would be a behind the scenes kind of person like a cameraman or writer. It’s hard to know. But we both thought that putting the make-up on and being the zombie was easier than being yourself.” 

True words during these strange and difficult times. 

Submissions to the World’s Largest Zombie Movie are being accepted on an ongoing basis. So, don’t throw a Zombie-like tantrum if you weren’t one of the nearly 300 entrants who participated in the first wave. New chapters of assignments are being collected from participants from around the world. 

Just like there are always more zombies, there will be additional waves taking place and ongoing editing. You’ll get a chance to polish individual storylines, participate in community discussions, and share photos and videos about the movie. The parts filmed by young filmmakers are assembled by industry veterans to create chapter one which should run about an hour. The online reveal of part one of the World’s Largest Zombie Movie was May 1—exciting news for all those who feel a little confined at home living in zombie-like times. May 1 is also the date for new registrants who will get another part of the script.

The Ratners have found that even during these difficult times, while there are things that they all miss, there are many lessons and things to be grateful for.

“I’m grateful to have this time with our children. That we can be with them every moment. For me it’s given us a break and maybe told us to slow down. Be grateful and appreciative for what we do have,” says Petra. 

Kids from all over the world from Kindergarten to 12th grade are invited to participate. There’s no cost and all you need to do to participate is have a good imagination and want to have some fun. It’s a great way to connect with new friends and families from around the world. And while the social distancing guidelines may keep us all apart, the World’s Largest Zombie Movie will do what great films always do—connect people through the power of filmmaking.  

And that’s something that even Covid-19 can’t take away. 

For more info, visit worldslargestzombiemovie.com. 

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Gus’s Talk Show Covid-19 Pick: 

Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee with Jerry Seinfeld

If you loved the show Seinfeld and or Curb Your Enthusiasm and have Netflix, watch this. The show, which started in 2012, is the perfect blend of pathos, comedy and history. Jerry takes you on a ride in a classic car with a great comedian—legends like a Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Don Rickles, Eddie Murphy or Jerry Lewis. What Seinfeld does here is not only genius, it is genuine. It is a great service to all those who love to laugh. He provides a history of comedy in the most casual and comfortable of ways. Ways we all miss today. Going for a ride with a friend, grabbing a cup of coffee and both laughing and crying together. But most of all connecting with each other and sharing a moment in time that may never come again. Simply, it’s a joy to watch. The highest form of entertainment! Bravo, Jerry! Thank you for being old school and for being so cool with your warm cups of coffee and conversation.