PERSPECTIVE - Kwazulu-Natal Lockdown 2020 drone footage

On the 15th of March 2020, the President of South Africa, Cyril Ramaphosa, declared a national state of disaster and 11 days later, an intense lockdown ensued! Covid-19 bought our country to an immediate standstill. Being filmmakers and licenced drone pilots, the reality of living through a pandemic sparked a natural urge to want to document it and to capture a monumental moment in history. Hours of phones calls, extensive emails sent and permits coming out of our ears, Simon Mulholland and I, finally set off into the unknown and began filming across KZN. The more footage we gathered, the more compelled we became to share the incredible sights of Durban and surrounds, with you. Our short film, ‘PERSPECTIVE’, captures a never-to-be-seen again, empty, picturesque and pristine KZN. Filming from the sky, offers a completely new perspective of the world below, through this perception, we decided we wanted to shed a new light on this pandemic and to remind every person of the opportunity we have, to unite once more as a nation. Our perspective on this challenging time was inspired by Nelson Mandela’s legacy, shining as a beacon of hope and healing and as a potent reminder of the power of the human spirit to overcome impossible odds. His vision of a “rainbow nation” is more relevant today than it’s ever been and his commitment to building bridges across the chasms that divide us holds a message that humanity has never needed more. In the words of our great, Nelson Mandela, “Perhaps it requires such depth of oppression to create such heights of character. My country is rich in the minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil, but I have always known that its greatest wealth is its people, finer and truer than the purest diamonds.” When we look at a new life beyond Covid-19, we need to make the right, responsible choices and take a good hard look at our current lifestyles. This pandemic is as much about re-aligning our understanding of the world as about finding some hope amidst the chaos. There is a definite opportunity for a hard reset and a chance to realign our priorities as people, a nation and a society. Nelson Mandela spent twenty-seven years fighting a far greater ‘lockdown’. The way that Mandela bettered himself through adversity serves as an object lesson to us all: If Mandela could walk out of 27 years in jail without any anger, we too can rise above our petty problems and disputes. His courage in the face of oppression stands as an invaluable lesson of the power of passion and perseverance to change the world. A lesson he would want us to apply to our own lives. These are unprecedented times, and it is safe to say that none of us have ever experienced anything quite like Covid 19. Let us not focus on all the negative animosity going on in the world, simply pause for a moment, take a step back and see things through a new perspective. We hope that this video will encourage each and every one of you to embrace these challenges and turn them into opportunities for each and every member of our beautiful Rainbow nation, to live lives of equal stature. Our rich South African land can work for us all.