Backlot Productions Partners with Boundless Films to Produce Feature Documentary “UNLOCKED” Revealing the Silent Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns

Backlot Productions, founded by Journalist-Turned-Filmmaker Dana Richie, and Boundless Films, led by Founder & CCO Francesco Lucarelli, announced their partnership to produce a documentary titled “UNLOCKED” which reveals the lasting physical and mental health consequences of COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns. 

This will be the first project in a slate of films for the collaborative partnership. In addition, the team behind “UNLOCKED” released the project’s four-minute which you can watch below.

“UNLOCKED” examines how isolation from the pandemic affected millions globally and will continue to impact generations to come. The film focuses on the unimaginable impact of COVID-19 lockdowns and isolation, and its lasting consequences on society at large.

“Now is the time to talk about people’s ongoing mental and physical health struggles as a result of the pandemic.  We need to document what took place in this moment in time, before people forget. It is critical to our nation’s healing process and our collective memory to talk about it,” said Dana Richie, Backlot Productions. 

UNLOCKED will shine the spotlight on personal stories of those directly impacted in unexpected ways from pandemic lockdowns. Key storylines will feature a myriad of societal issues that were fueled by the effects of isolation. This includes increased loneliness and depression, rise in economic instability and homelessness, workforce burnout, significant increase in late stage cancer diagnosis, domestic violence, addiction, and countless others.

“I think it’s important to capture the extent of the damage caused by having most of humanity locked up for months on end. Collectively, we experienced a mass trauma, and it needs to be discussed,” said Francesco Lucarelli, Boundless Films. “This film is not about the virus or vaccination, it’s not about politics. It’s about what happened to society as a result of prolonged isolation.”  

In addition, the “UNLOCKED” filmmakers are collaborating with many COVID-19 oral history projects for the making of this documentary including Columbia University, The Smithsonian, and the New Orleans Historic Collection. The collaboration includes the use of archival footage, access to oral history recordings, and guidance on the film’s advisory board.  For more information, visit www.unlockedfilm.com