Hope and Fear: How Pandemics Changed The World

Produced by London indie, Pilot Productions, this one off documentary will explore the impact on our planet of viral diseases across the ages. Covid 19, which struck with such devastating impact in the early months of 2020 ,is just the latest in a long line of pandemics that have devastated, and in some cases ,destroyed societies throughout time. Like all pandemics, Covid-19 was sparked by human interaction with the animal world.

We explore the symptoms of these diseases and their impact – whether it was the Black Death/Bubonic Plague -which cost 100 million lives in 14th century Europe, or the Smallpox pandemic transmitted by Europeans which wiped out indigenous communities in the Americas, Pacific and Australia between the 15th and 18th centuries. The Great Plague of the 17th century and the Spanish Flu outbreak at the end of World War 1, were equally devastating in Europe.