Award-winning Windsor documentarian tackles family stories at COVID-19 field hospital

When Windsor filmmaker Matt Gallagher set out to turn his lens on a sensitive and heart-wrenching topic, he never thought it would hit so close to home.

He wanted to shoot a documentary aboutthe relationship between seniors being treated for COVID-19 at a field hospital set up at St. Clair College and their families who can't visit them.

Days after inquiring about shooting there, Gallagher found out hisdada resident of Heron Terrace long-term care homehad tested positive for COVID-19 and would be transferred to the field hospital himself.

"It was hard because we were dealing with dad being in the field hospital ... we were all sort of wondering 'how is this going to work?'" said Gallagher. "My mom couldn't even visit him in the hospital."

In Ontario alone, more than1,000 residents and several front-line staff have died amid more than 200 outbreaks at long-term care homes.At Heron Terrace, at least 12 people have died from the disease.

Matt's dadMorrie Gallagher was a high school teacher and coach in the Windsor area for more than 30 years.

"If you grew up in Windsor you'd know Coach Gallagher," said his son.

Morrie now suffers from dementia, and is one of the 32 patients who have been transferred from the care home to the field hospital. Gallagher said this situation isespecially hard for his parents, who are used to seeing each other every day.

But there are still ways the couple stays in touch.

I've seen a different side of my mom and dad, this really romantic side, it's very intriguing,- Matt Gallagher, filmmaker

"Every single day the hospital staff is reaching out with my dad, organizing phone calls ands things like that," said Gallagher."So that contact with my dad was really important."

That's when theaward-winning documentary filmmaker decided to press on with his idea, and feature his parents and other families as they navigate the difficulties of staying close during COVID-19. He's callinghisworkDispatches from a Field Hospital.

"I was like 'Mom will you let me record your phone calls with dad?'" said Gallagher, adding he hopes to chronicle phone calls, video chats, emails and any other forms of communication used by families in this situation.

With a film crew outside of her opened front window, Joan Gallagher speaks with her husband as she normally would. Matt Gallagher is in discussion with other families about being included in the film andhe's looking for more who may be interested in sharing their stories.

"I think in the end it's going to be a collage of stories about what happens when people can't get close to one another."

But, there is still a closeness that took Gallagher by surprise.

"I've seen a different side of my mom and dad, this really romantic side, it's very intriguing," he said."This has been a couple married for 53 years and I don't think they've ever spent a week apart in their entire lives."

The filmmaker said he's reminded of war-time movies where despite what was happening around them, soldiers often spoke of the human experience and not necessarily the detailsof battle.

"My mother is trying to keep my dad's spirits up and my dad is maintaining his sense of humour," he said.

There's an emotional toll to telling a story so close to home, but Gallagher said he is powering through and wants to tell the story.

As for Morrie, "he's doing good, mostly asymptomatic but confused and that's the tough part," said Gallagher, whose family is staying optimistic.

Gallagher is also the director of the acclaimed documentary, Prey, about sexual abuse by members of the Roman Catholic clergy. The film wonthe $50,000 Rogers Audience Award for best Canadian documentaryat the 2019 HotDocs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival.