Doc Star of the Month: Arlet Guallpa, COVID Diaries NYC

An omnibus project from the DCTV Youth Media Program, COVID Diaries NYC, which began airing March 9 on HBO, is exactly what its title implies — a cinematic journaling of sorts from five young New Yorkers (the team includes Marcial Pilataxi, Aracelie Colón, Camille Dianand, Shane Fleming and Arlet Guallpa, with original animation provided by Rosemary Colón-Martinez) forced to navigate the many landmines of budding adulthood during a once-in-a-century pandemic. Ranging in age from 17 to 21, and of varying backgrounds and ethnicities, the quintet all bravely place themselves and their equally struggling family members in front of the lens. Which ends up doing something surprisingly remarkable —shamefully exposing us viewers, and society at large, as well.

To read my interview with director/star Arlet Guallpa, the proud daughter of a bus driver and home-care worker, who with Frontline Family has crafted a loving portrait of her immigrant parents, visit Documentary magazine.