2020 was expected to be an outstanding year. The world had made ambitious plans to celebrate the year with the choicest of humanity’s accomplishments. But destiny had other plans. A year that started with news about a novel virus in one corner of the world was soon the mute spectator to a worldwide pandemic, the scale of which was never seen before in this lifetime. As the winter turned into spring, the situation in the world too turned around. It was a difficult time, as one did not know how long the darkness was to prevail. The ray of hope at the end of the dark tunnel was forever present, but seemed just out of reach. The pain and sorrow of losing loved ones was drawing the world away from the light of hope and joy. The law of nature continues unchanged and just as the change in season is inevitable, so too, the tide turned, and man could bask in the sunshine at the end of the tunnel. This is the story of the human spirit.
‘Winter into Spring’ is a lockdown film by Director Mike Gainor. A writer, digital artist, musician and filmmaker, Mike has affixed his signature into every component of this delightful short. The visuals used by Mike are a series of digital artworks, of stylized photographs and digital art, rooted in popular art movements from around the world. The poetic narrative of the emotions of an entire generation as they traveled from one season to the next that eventful year, is a truthful demonstration of how deep an impression the pandemic had left behind on society. After a grim beginning, Mike uses music to enliven the mood of the film with hope and promise. Using abstract art as the core, the film walks us through the laws of nature, where patterns repeat itself over and over and where hope follows despair in this never-ending cycle of life and seasons.
2020 was a year like no other this generation has seen. In surviving this eventful year, sacrifices had to be made and the importance of hope to human life was stressed beyond any doubt. And, just as the season changes, so does the situation of 2020.
