Empty. Eerily quiet. Every landmark in London, Ont. missing the people who bring the city to life.

That's how New York City filmmaker J.J. Sereday begins a beautifully crafted visual story about the city on lock down during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his five-minute montage, Sereday shows dozens of well-known shops, street corners, neighbourhoods and even back alleys abandoned like a ghost town.

Underlaid is audio of world leaders announcing the coming pandemic, including declarations of states of emergencies, until the video ends with a message of hope.

Sereday's girlfriend is a London neonatal intensive care nurse. While he was driving her back and forth to a London hospital for her shifts, he saw how the city colourfully supported its front-line workers.

"At first, I would see how empty and eerie London was and I would capture that," Sereday said in a telephone call from his home in Brooklyn.

"But the more I drove back and forth, the more I saw the messages of support. I wanted to capture that and weave it into the story."

"We have the ability to rise above the challenges that we're dealing with. We really wanted this film to be something that makes you lift your head up and carry on."