ANNO 2000 – Aussie Film Completed Filming During The Pandemic

Filmmakers worldwide must have found it a daunting task to complete projects owing to the restrictions imposed by the ongoing issues associated with COVID-19.

However, Sydney-based writer director James Morcan has proudly announced that principal photography on his new film Anno 2000 has been completed – even though it took 12 months.

The feature film, described as a vignette contains multiple stories which all interconnect at the end. The common theme is relationships at breakdown point in family, friendships, and romances. The stories are dramatic with comedic moments and cover the spectrums of ethnicity and religions.

The cast includes Greg Poppleton (The Chronicles Of Narnia), Erin Connor (Occupation: Rainfall) and US based Kevin Scott Allen (Prison Break) and Sheila Ball (Assault on Va-33).

Filmed in 17 cities across 5 countries on 4 continents with dialogue in English, Hebrew, Mandarin, and Italian with 8 to 10 film crews worldwide, the project was ambitious especially having been filmed around lockdown and travel restrictions imposed by each country.

“Some actors came down with COVID and sometimes we were good to shoot somewhere and then we found out there was a snap lockdown which at some point affected all the countries around the world. We also had to use remote filming technology for much of the shoot, some of what we did had basically never been done before in a movie as there was no blueprint to follow, “explained Morcan.

But did positivity play a role in having successfully completed the shoot? “Yes, and I also think that because we were keeping busy during the pandemic we had the whole time to focus on the project, so I believe that attitude was enormously important and we found our way.”

Now in post-production it’s envisaged that the film will screen at mainstream film festivals around the world including Toronto and Venice before receiving a cinematic release in Australia later this year, followed by an online distribution on major streaming services.

“Some people are comparing this film to the movies of Woody Allen and 1970s cinema but we’ve been told by industry people that we’ve essentially created a new genre and festivals love that sort of thing,” concluded Morcan.