Black Dawn: The Next Pandemic
From the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

For the moment, we seem to have escaped the threat of a global bird flu pandemic, but what about next time? This gripping docudrama imagines what it would be like if what we feared actually happened: human-to-human transmission of the virus, leading to the worldwide spread of avian influenza. Many experts predict that such a pandemic will happen, and that it will be more lethal than all of the world's previous plagues.

Black Dawn is a starkly realistic picture of life during the next pandemic Although fictional, the scenario is grounded in scientific fact and inspired by the research and pandemic preparedness efforts of the world’s leading thinkers on the subject. It features leading epidemiologists, doctors and emergency planners who describe the impact avian flu would have as it spreads around the globe. The drama’s timeline and other script elements are based on the research, predictions, and assumptions used to prepare pandemic plans by the World Health Organization and governmental health agencies in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

The film is supported by a variety of online study materials and by The Next Pandemic Blog, a personal chronicle of the pandemic as told by a fictional character, Jane MacDonald, a nurse working in a Toronto hospital when the crisis strikes.

52 minutes
© 2006
Purchase $199 DVD
Order No. QA-481
ISBN (DVD) 1-57295-935-5

Reviews
"Avoiding sensationalism, Black Dawn makes a strong case that the danger posed by the bird flu is both real and potentionally more devastating than the world-wide influenza epidemic that struck in the early 20th century. Recommended. Three stars." Video Librarian

Awards & Conference Screenings
Western Psychological Association
WorldFest Houston Film Festival, Platinum Award

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To rent or purchase this film, please visit the Icarus Films website

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