I really didn’t think COVID Dystopia would ever be screened in Florida. There are so many scenes that feature Florida Governor Ron DeathSantis that I assumed any juror who is conservative would guarantee the film is never seen.
The Orlando Film Festival runs from October 28 to November 4, 2024. That means COVID Dystopia will be screened right before the November presidential election. The film also features many scenes of Trump’s failed COVID policies. This is, I am assuming, another reason many film festivals consider the short to be poison for the big screen.
A Rhode Island film festival organizer e-mailed to let me know that she contracted COVID-19 at the the in person screenings at the film festival. This meant that approvals for the festival had to be delayed while she recovered. I thought, that might mean that COVID Dystopia might have a better shot at approval, but the film was still side lined. People prefer to pretend that life has returned to normal even as they get repeatedly infected. Every film festival is a super spreader. One in 35 people are infected right now. We are just now starting to come down from a COVID wave that peaked in late August 2024. I think I am still a COVID virgin. Even though I take every precaution, I will likely become infected at one of these Film Festivals as I promote COVID Dystopia.
I am finishing up the design work on a 200 plus page book with over 600 COVID themed illustrations. If the copy editing is done by late October, I could publish the book in November of 2024. The COVID Dystopia book gives a more sweeping overview of everything that has happened in the ongoing pandemic. The short animated film would become a teaser to promote the book.