hello this is bbc news. the queen has made a rare television address to britain and the commonwealth — stressing the value of self—discipline and resolve. i hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge, and those who came after us will say that this generation of britons were as strong as any. the uk government warns it could step up limits on outdoor exercise if people continue to flout

social distancing rules. i say this to the small minority of people who are breaking the rules and pushing the boundaries: you are risking your own life and the lives of others, and you are making it harderfor us all. scotland's chief medical officer apologises after she is warned by police for breaking her own advice and twice travelling to her holiday home: spain reports a fall in its daily death toll for a third consecutive day hundreds of millions of people across india are told to switch off their electricity in the fight against coronavirus and president trump warns americans to prepare for a big increase in the number of coronavirus deaths. new york state records its biggest one—dayjump in deaths so far, now on bbc news...|n a special pandemic edition of talking movies the programme looks at how the coronavirus has devastated the movie industry in many

parts of the world. hello, and welcome to the special edition of talking movies coming coming to you for my home on new york's upper west size. of course, the struggles of the movie business pales in comparison to what has been happening in terms of the human cost of this disease. but, in some parts of this disease. but, in some parts of the world, the film industry has been totally crippled by the pandemic. china was the first major country to be hit by the virus and it's national film country to be hit by the virus and it's nationalfilm industry has been severely hurt. production has been

closed down, as has cinemas. with the impact of coronavirus waning in china, cinemas almost opened last weekend, but the government ordered them to remain closed at the last minute. when they finally reopened, going to movies is not going to exactly be festive. this cinematographer lives in shanghai. when the cinemas are reopened they are going to follow a strict rule of disinfection and every cinema, will be required to show their qr code a national id cards and undergo temperature checks. everyone will have an empty seat in between and also you will have to wear a mask over time. but in india, coronavirus has taken a big chunk out of bollywood and the other film

industries. indians love their movies so the closing of cinemas has hit them very hard. it is left is catatonic! and it is like a drug in oui’ catatonic! and it is like a drug in ourveins, we need ourweekly catatonic! and it is like a drug in our veins, we need our weekly fix and we are lost without it. i don't think we have ever seen such diva station. it is a few weeks i have nationwide lockdown now so it is a big shock. we have survived both times of other disasters, natural disasters, floods, famine, riots, communal riots, but we have never seen anything as impactful as this because the whole nation is under lockdown. hollywood, of course, was upended by the lockdown. bond, james bond. the new james bond film was the first to be postponed. this is shut down production at nearly every

other major movie customer. it's completely stopped. initially, whenever, you know, the virus first started coming to the united states, it was that productions are being suspended for a couple months or a couple weeks. but now everything has stopped indefinitely. i'm thinking of, you know, bigger movies like fantastic beasts, the matrix 4 movie, every disney, marvel show, every netflix show, every hbo show, the friends reunion, for example, is, you know, postponed indefinitely until this is under control. i don't want to stay here. i'm sorry, i would never... hey, hey. see? right now, my priority is giving my baby somewhere safe, do you understand? some studio movies placed in cinemas were subsequently made available by the screening giants. this is a very significant move with ramifications typically there are 90 days between when a movie finishes its run in theatres and is available on streaming or on demand, and for a long time, some studios and some streaming

sites like netflix or hulu have been trying to chip away at that 90 days because it is a big loss for them, financially. and so i think now, now that we are seeing new releases come on streaming, on demand, so much quicker, that might be a really lasting change. normally at this time of the year, the movie industry would be looking forward to the cannes film festival, which is held in may. but cannes has been postponed, as have dozens of other film—related events. but festivals are adapting. south by southwest was cancelled but it's been showcasing films in its line—up by putting them online. case in point, a short horrorfilm called regret, from director santiago menghini. they could have easilyjust closed down the festival and just said, sorry, just the circumstances are what they are and operate, you know, with the intention of starting up next year. but they didn't. they actually came back to us and said, look, we're really working on something for everyone to have an opportunity to show yourfilm. even now, since they've announced this platform, it's been released, i have been getting a lot of great feedback and something i wouldn't have had if it wasn't for their initiative and their effort to really help the film—makers. i would have been left

basically abandoned. clearly, the globalfilm industry is being rocked by the pandemic, the damage will almost certainly continue to be done, and experts believe it will take months, even years, for the movie business to recover. now let's move to pandemic—themed films. movies that deal with pandemics, like steven soderbergh's contagion, have been streamed in record numbers in recent days by audiences preoccupied by current events. but as emma jones reports, contagion is just one of many films that speak to our predicament. 100 years ago, a deadly influenza virus infected hundreds of millions of people. this is pandemic, a documentary investigating virus outbreaks and how to prevent the next one. eerily, it arrived on netflix around the same time as the public became aware of a virus called covid—i9. since then, it's been streamed millions of times, presumably for the

benefit of hindsight. within one month, a virus can spread throughout the country. a month after that, widespread throughout the world. actually experiencing contagion has resurrected steven soderbergh's 2011 film of the same name, which has been watched again by millions with fresh eyes. made with the advice of medical experts, contagion is a sober examination of a pandemic spreading across the world with now all—too—familiar themes. it really foretold what we are experiencing today. it's obviously in greater numbers in the film, but in terms of the way it spread — it starts in hong kong, this fictional virus in the movie, and it spreads via the way that this current virus spreads. the average person touches their face three to five times every waking minute. the question is not if we'll get patients, it's when we'll get them. 93 days by steve gukas, starring danny glover, actually deals with a historic

outbreak of ebola in nigeria, which was contained. but hollywood has also treated sickness as a standard blockbuster plot device, an enemy to be defeated. what chance did 1995's outbreak, caused by a monkey smuggled into california carrying a lethal virus, have against these a—list actors? we've got 19 dead, we've got 100 more infected. it's spreading like a brushfire. what are you talking about? if one of them's got it, then ten of them have got it now! it's notjust films about pandemics which play upon the human fear of infection. that fear also stalks a whole movie genre, the horrorfilm, where often an epidemic can unleash a future that nobody‘s quite bargained for. what's interesting is how many different monster movies seem to reflect our fears of infection and disease. if you think about any dracula film, there's that fear that something might come from across the sea, from another land, and it might infect our country and spread out throughout society, and how scary that is.

zombies used to be these shambling reanimated corpses that lurched through graveyards. it really changed with 28 days later, the film directed by danny boyle and written by alex garland. because in that, they are no longer reanimated corpses, they are people who have been infected by a virus. it has those scenes of an empty london, which we are seeing in reality at the moment. world war z with brad pitt. in that film, it's really about globalisation — about how these infections don't just take over a city or a building, but can spread throughout the world. is anyone doing better than we are? the isolation that an estimated quarter of the globe are experiencing now has been anticipated in films such as i am legend, where will smith seems totally alone in a post—apocalyptic new york, to oldboy by park chan—wook, where the main character

is locked up for 15 years without human contact. but if alone is bad, alone with someone else can be worse. just look at what happens in the lighthouse by robert eggers, where two men are isolated for weeks on an island. in a couple of years, we're going to see the creative effects of the coronavirus outbreak in cinemas. what you think we're going to see? it is going to be heavyweight political dramas, of course, with actors pretending to be donald trump. there's going to be slasher movies and stalker movies with people being chased through the empty streets during the eerie lockdown. heist movies set at the same time, people robbing banks with no—one around. there are going to be romantic dramas, romantic comedies with people falling in love over social media or people falling in love across the street from each other but, of course, they can't get close because of the lockdown. there are going to be so many films set during this crisis that we are going to get sick of them. watch this.

it's transmission. so we just need to know which direction. until now, hollywood's portrayal of infection always brought along a solution — a vaccine, or perhaps brad pitt. the time of coronavirus means this generation of moviegoers could find it much harder to accept that a hero really can come and save the day. it's mutating. with everyone cooped up in their homes with nowhere to go, the pandemic has led to a huge increase in streaming in recent days. so much so that the surge in streaming may forever change the way in which we watch movies in the future, perhaps hastening the demise of the traditional cinema. i certainly hope that isn't the case. anyway, streaming is now very popular.

i spoke to movie lovers in the us, india, china, germany, japan and denmark, and it was no surprise to find that all of them in the midst of this pandemic have been streaming movies, sometimes for hours at a stretch. there are no movie theatres, there is nowhere else to experience moving images other than on your computer screen, so i think that streaming platforms have become the full—on opportunity for people to watch film and tv now, so it's a historic high. so what films have people been watching in their homes? sergei lives in tokyo. i've definitely been watching several pandemic films. the one most watched lately, i think, is outbreak. i hear from most of my friends, they do watch those films lately. especially now, like, in the last week, because everyone is depressed, in general. your town is being quarantined. movie lover fatima, who lives in arizona, has rather different tastes. i have a few friends who are watching some more of those dystopic pandemic movies, but i find myself drawn more

to movies that draw a sense of comfort, the feel—good kind, just to comfort myself during these uncertain times. it is hard to single out the ideal movie to watch in these pandemic times. you know, the movie that almost everyone i know has been turning to for comfort, suddenly, seems to be moonstruck, the romantic comedy starring cher and nicolas cage that's set in brooklyn heights. if you're based in new york like i am, it's a nice reminder of what it like outside. do you love him, loretta? i love him awful. that's too bad. she loves me. it's the right amount of escapism, without seeming too sickly sweet. the pandemic hasn'tjust prompted millions to drift to streaming platforms, but it's also had an impact on film—makers. in delhi, the pandemic has given director tariq vasudeva much food for thought. what it makes me think is once this is over, there has to be a shift in how people are approaching cinema, and how much they are...

how much they are exploring the idea of unity. with audiences becoming so accustomed to streaming movies at home during the pandemic, there are concerns that once the coronavirus outbreak has subsided, cinemas will remain empty, they could just disappear. jad salfiti is a british journalist based in berlin. there are many, many excellent independent cinemas here in berlin, and they are the ones that will be hit the hardest. there is no end in sight for self isolation, they are going to be closed at least until the end of april, so it's not clear what will happen to many of these independent cinemas. but some moviegoers take a more optimistic view. actually, when the cinemas open again, i think that people are going to go to the cinemas a lot, at least the first couple of weeks, and then it's probably going to tone down a bit and be just like before. because right now, i think a lot of people are tired ofjust, like sitting at home and streaming. i mean, it's ok, but sometimes

it's also nice to, like, get out of the house, meet with some friends and see something on a big screen. but with all this streaming taking place, it's become clear that in the midst of this pandemic, the magic of cinema still prevails. it is definitely helping to take people away from disconcerting realities. as esteemed film—maker david lynch once stated, cinema is like opening a door and going into a new world. while the streaming giants are getting most of the attention in these days of social distancing, there is a host of smaller streaming platforms online offering some great alternatives. from his home in connecticut, film critic noah gittel has been looking at what's available beyond the mainstream. like many people around the world, i've had some extra time at home lately, and i'm spending it watching movies. what i've discovered is that there's a whole world of cinema

beyond the usual suspects of streaming services and for those smaller streamers looking to break out, this could be the moment. international streaming services that could see a boom in viewing numbers include spuul, which focuses on indian content and has over 1,000 films and series, as well as asian crush, which focuses on asian cinema and could be a destination forfans of parasite, this year's best picture winner from korea. other services such as mubi, which features a hand—picked selection of award—winning cinema that is curated monthly, shudder, a haven for horrorfans and shout factory tv, which specialises in cult and b—movies, are all offering free or low—cost trials, hoping to lure viewers that are looking for titles beyond the offerings at netflix, amazon and hulu. i think that these companies,

they recognise that they have an incredible opportunity here to reach audiences that might not otherwise be kind of compelled to search for something that they don't already have. so they are reallyjust trying to lure them with an extended free trial and then, of course communal, the hope with any free trial is that people either forget to cancel or like it enough to keep subscribing. in fact, the streaming service landscape is getting more crowded now than ever, with theatrical distributors and physical cinemas themselves even getting into the game. film and video distributor kino lorber has launched virtual marquee, partnering with 150 american independent theatres to stream the films that they would have been showing in cinemas and splitting the revenue. they started their programme with bacurau, an award—winning brazilian western that was slated to open on march 6th. what's interesting about our programme is that although this was developed as kind of an interim,

as a stopgap to allow theatres to recapture revenue while the physical doors were closed, we see this as a way of creating a virtual expansion of the screening opportunities. even if they go back to normal, they are very pressed, most of the time, to play films quickly, move them out, they are locked in calendar schedules and such. well, suddenly with the kino marquee programme they will have now virtual screens to play on. it is a change that could stretch to all corners of the movie world, with ripple effects that are hard to predict. at least for now, independent cinema seems to have an advantage — while new blockbusters are being postponed to later this year or even 2021, the latest independent films are nowjust a click away. around the world, the film—making community is responding to the pandemic with stories

directly related to the impact it is having. ten directors in greece have just completed short films on the subject and some are very moving. "life can find a home during the pandemic" is the theme of ten new short films completed by top greek film—makers, at the behest of a film festival when it postponed its documentary festival last month. it's artistic director would like creativity to flourish in this time of darkness. art can be made in any situation as long as there is an artist or an audience. our partners implement creation, give the means to this hope. we are asking film directors to make a movie in their confinement. it is a liberating action, because there is no borders

within four walls. we are staying home, washing our hands properly and making films without disinfectant. among the films made for this endeavour in the past few days was one shot within the home of a director. the camera pans across piles of books in her home. i decided to do it because at the time i was rearranging the books on the book shelves in the house. by doing this, i was coming face—to—face with my past and my previous lives, so this three minute film is about the experience of time, the fact we are constantly in a rush and suddenly we're forced to sit back and look at our lives, look at ourselves and look at our role in society and the world.

another short film is called foghorn, defined by that sound. it is an abstract work featuring wetlands and animals. it makes use of previously shot material. my film ended up to be about some pretty bleak atmosphere of the city, athens in silence, in contrast to the happiness of animals that see human action not being there any more. the man behind this collective creative endeavour was motivated by a desire to help the film—making community but also wants to give people hope and demonstrate that art can play a role in bringing that about. we are strong, we are fighting. the last years, during this big economic crisis particularly in greece, we questioned the role of the artist and said it was not important, and now billions of people are inside their homes, consuming art. and so it is the fundamental of our society and existence. the completed films will be shown

on the youtube channel for the film festival. the endeavour is just one of the many ways in which film—makers and film festivals are responding to the pandemic, when the desire to be creative trumps the stress and anxiety that could be holding film—makers back. well, that brings this special edition of talking movies to a close. well, that brings this special edition of talking movies to a close. we hope you have enjoyed the programme. please remember you can always reach us online, and you can find us on facebook and twitter. from me, tom brook, and the rest of the talking movies production

team in new york and beyond, it is goodbye, as we leave you with a great clip from a hollywood classic which might lift your spirits in the midst of these very difficult times. # i'm singing in the rain. #just singing in the rain. # what a glorious feeling, i'm happy again. # i'm laughing at clouds so dark up above. # the sun's in my heart, and i'm ready for love. # let the stormy clouds chase everyone from the place...# hello. there isa is a lot of dry weather

in the forecast for the uk for the week ahead. along with that warmth, there will be a lot of dry weather. there is a lot of dry weather in the forecast for the uk for the week ahead, and along with that dry weather there will be a lot of sunshine and building warmth, particularly through the middle part of the week. the reason being, high pressure bulging across us from the heart of europe giving us a strong southerly airstream. we've had that through the latter part of the weekend, but for the start of the new week we do move into cooler air briefly from the atlantic as this weather front sweeps its way eastwards. there'll be some rain around across eastern england, for first thing on monday. we lose, briefly, the southerly airstream, and for monday pick up a more westerly or south—westerly. wet start to the day for parts of east anglia and the south east of england, should be drier here for the afternoon. further west, some isolated showers, perhaps a little more frequent in the north with the winds rather

strong and gusty still for the north of scotland, but elsewhere generally lighter than they have been all sunday, and a slightly fresher feel things, 18 degrees for london, 12 in glasgow. overnight monday into tuesday there is a risk of a frost across the southern half of the uk with clear skies and light winds, but then on into tuesday we start to pick up that southerly airstream once again, warmerair flooding into all parts, and thanks to the high pressure, a lot of fine weather, a lot of sunshine, perhaps a little patchy high cloud turning the sunshine hazy for scotland and northern ireland but temperatures, as you can see, lifting again by a couple of degrees typically across the board, perhaps up to 20 in the south—east. through the middle of the week, there is just a chance that this weather front could slide far enough south into scotland and northern ireland to introduce a little rain here for a time but also some cooler air, most notably i think for the north of scotland where temperatures may not get into double figures across orkney and shetland and the highlands. further south, a little cooler for glasgow, but further south still closer to the heart of the high, up to 23 in the south—east of england. by the time we get to thursday we've got another area of low pressure trying to come in from the west. what that does is give us a more

direct southerly airstream, and it should push this weak front away from the north of scotland. still a little bit of rain around here, still some cloud, but the southerly winds carry the warmth further north once it goes, so temperatures just generally lifting across southern scotland and northern ireland, and i think 23, 2a possible across the south—east of england. that is likely to be our warmest day of the week. by friday, the high breaks downjust enough to allow some weather fronts to move in. good friday, start of easter weekend. some rain around, particularly across the northern half of the uk, it'll be rather breezy if not windy as well. to the south it's more a case of scattered showered, still pretty warm and up to 21 degrees in the south however, and we are looking at 13 or 1a further north. as for easter weekend, it does look like things will become a little bit more mobile. what do i mean by that? well, areas of low pressure potentially grazing into the north of the uk, so some showers around at times and cooler as well, temperatures returning closer to average values, but nothing exceptionally chilly and nothing exceptionally wet or windy, and then further ahead still the trends at the moment are showing high—pressure

building once again. this is the high that we're looking at. it is very high at the moment, though, for us to position exactly where it will sit across the uk and depending on where it comes to rest will depend on whether we end up with a warm southerly airstream or a cooler or northerly one so as you can imagine it's all to play for in that respect at the moment, but longer term things are still looking like they will stay pretty settled. forecast for the uk for the week ahead.

this is bbc news with the latest headlines for viewers in the uk and around the world. the queen has made a rare television address to britain and the commonwealth, stressing the value of self—discipline and resolve. i hope in the years to come, everyone will be able to take pride in how they responded to this challenge. and those who come after us will say the britons of this generation were as strong as any. the uk government warns it could step up limits on outdoor exercise if people continue to flout social distancing rules. i say this to the small minority,