Anno 2020 can best be described as an experimental film. Filmed during the pandemic, it holds a mirror to what we all experienced as a global society faced with lockdowns, mandatory vaccinations, and conspiracy theories, and looks at the challenges of staying connected during that difficult time in our lives. For me, the film is a little unnerving at times because of how "real" it feels. It's like watching my own experience of the pandemic through the eyes of the characters in the film, whose stories are not only compelling, and extremely well acted, but are also so familiar and honest in how they portray the emotions, fears, frustrations, hope, love, and the undying spirit of the human experience.
4 Reviews
Anno 2020 reveals what 2020 (the year) was really all about
CinematicEveryman17 April 2024
This feature film certainly does justice to its tagline...
"Think you know what 2020 was all about? Think again."
Anno 2020 peels back the covers to reveal the hidden agendas of those in power in the cataclysmic year that was 2020.
It's a credit to the filmmakers that this movie was shot in 17 cities, on four continents during the strict lockdowns of 2020 - and all on a budget of US$6,000. Especially when you consider the actors were usually physically isolated and separated from their fellow actors and the director.
Having lived through the lockdowns, mandates and myriad of other COVID-related stresses of that year, as we lucky ones have, Anno 2020 is a movie we can all relate to regardless of our beliefs and convictions. Regardless of age, too. It's suitable for family viewing.
Highly recommended!
Anno 2020 peels back the covers to reveal the hidden agendas of those in power in the cataclysmic year that was 2020.
It's a credit to the filmmakers that this movie was shot in 17 cities, on four continents during the strict lockdowns of 2020 - and all on a budget of US$6,000. Especially when you consider the actors were usually physically isolated and separated from their fellow actors and the director.
Having lived through the lockdowns, mandates and myriad of other COVID-related stresses of that year, as we lucky ones have, Anno 2020 is a movie we can all relate to regardless of our beliefs and convictions. Regardless of age, too. It's suitable for family viewing.
Highly recommended!
'Chasing Chaos' in James Morcan's Anno 2020
Novarho10 April 2024
Warning: Spoilers
'Attracting Chaos': An Old Style of Filmmaking Meets a New Breed of Director in James Morcan's 'Anno 2020'
"Think you know what 2020 was about? Think again," teases the tagline of Anno 2020. A mystery drama based on Morcan's novel of the same name, Anno 2020 is set in, and was filmed during, the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. Described as, "A global kaleidoscope of interconnected characters seeking redemption, forgiveness, and answers amidst the chaos of Anno MMXX (Year 2020)," the film features a core cast of more than a dozen performers from around the world. Spanning seventeen cities in five countries on four continents, it was shot over two years amidst international travel bans on a nano-budget of US$6000. The film, which premiered at The Ritz Cinema on April 7, was a Quarter-Finalist at the International British Film Festival 2023 and won the 'Best Experimental Film' award from the Titan International Film Festival in Sydney.
New Zealand-born Morcan may be a directorial debutante but as an author, he has considerable clout. The novel upon which the film is based is the first solo-authored title from the dozens of books he has written with his father, literary polymath, Lance Morcan. Among the duo's oeuvre are two best-selling novels, White Spirit and Into the Americas, the gripping international thriller series, The Orphan Trilogies, and the new release horror, Silent Fear, which their production company, Morcan Motion Pictures, is developing into a feature film. Also slated for production is the author's controversial non-fiction franchise, The Underground Knowledge Series, which spawned a popular YouTube podcast and one of the largest and most lively discussion groups on Goodreads. Also an actor of note, Morcan has appeared alongside the likes of Russell Crowe. Most recently he co-starred in three highly-rated features, After Armageddon (2016), and the Oz-Bollywood productions, Love You Krishna (2013), and My Cornerstone (2019), all of which he penned. His feature films have screened at cinemas in Australia, New Zealand, India, Italy, and Cannes.
The making of Anno 2020 is seat-of-the-pants guerrilla filming at its finest. The fact that the ambitious project was even started, let alone completed, is a triumph of collaboration and experimentation. Morcan divulges how a conglomeration of suddenly unemployed headline actors and bored, under-utilised crew members helped to piece the film together while the rest of the world sat glued to their couches in their pyjamas. "People were in lockdown, and they really wanted something to do, so we just attracted people who... were primarily more actor-producers who just wanted to join us." Explaining how he navigated the logistical and technical challenges of filming remotely in so many locations during travel bans, Morcan says that much of the filming was facilitated organically, adding that the timing was equally as important as the technologies they used. "People just said, 'Well, I've got a film crew and they're bored in Los Angeles or... I've got this red camera, or we've got friends in China,'" says Morcan, adding, "and it just grew and grew and grew to the point where we barely recognised it, you know, from our original plans.
As the location shoots expanded across borders, so too did the cast. In Anno 2020, a melange of instantly recognisable faces and high-profile international artists appear alongside a band of promising, lesser-known, performers. American perennials, such as Star Trek's, Kevin Scott-Allen, Brooklyn. Blue. Sky's, La Rivers, and consumate veteran actress, Sheila Ball, join with seasoned homegrown talents like The Chronicles of Narnia actor, Greg Poppleton and Blue Murder's, Gil Ben-Moshe, while esteemed Chinese American actress, Crystal J. Huang, and standout newcomer, Israeli actress, Lital Luzon, are among the multicultural cohorts who round out the cast. Quizzed on how he managed to attract such a stellar line-up of performers on no budget during a lockdown, Morcan explains, "It was basically like, you know, the cooperative theatre productions of yesteryear where everyone would get a slice of the pie," adding, "It was about making everyone a type of producer... so everyone is getting something out of it." True to this collaborative ethos each of the lead actors and key creatives on Anno 2020 received producer credits.
Anno 2020, despite its setting, is not about the Covid pandemic. Instead, it follows the cast of core characters as they navigate the relationship schisms, clashing beliefs, and core internal wounds that are made manifest by the forced confinement of the lockdowns. There are no hackneyed, 'My boyfriend and I were separated by the travel ban' narratives here, rather, in true 'Altmanesque-ensemble' style, a series of distinct narrative vignettes unfold and intersect. We see an alienated mother and daughter finding their way back to each other online when the mother is diagnosed with cancer and cannot access medical treatment. We see an aging gay man seeking connection with the family who ostracised him many years earlier, and we see a formerly-young man who realises he has wasted his life when he finds himself single and loveless while staring down the barrel of middle-age during lockdown.
Describing himself more as an 'author-director' with 'actorly' leanings, Morcan reveals his literary roots in the dexterous handling of the complex storylines, while the empathy his acting background fosters shows in the performers' ability to feel safe to express their vulnerability. "I think author-actor is the key background for me," says Morcan, adding, "because my style, I guess, is very pro-actor." In his words, "I'm big on the planning, but for this movie, I think it shows that there are other ways to make films and the film industry has kind of forgotten about that," adding, "Like, with that sort of preparation, you're trying to reduce any chaos, but Anno 2020 was almost about attracting chaos, chasing it, because that's what made it dangerous. That's what made it lively."
"Think you know what 2020 was about? Think again," teases the tagline of Anno 2020. A mystery drama based on Morcan's novel of the same name, Anno 2020 is set in, and was filmed during, the Covid-19 pandemic lockdowns. Described as, "A global kaleidoscope of interconnected characters seeking redemption, forgiveness, and answers amidst the chaos of Anno MMXX (Year 2020)," the film features a core cast of more than a dozen performers from around the world. Spanning seventeen cities in five countries on four continents, it was shot over two years amidst international travel bans on a nano-budget of US$6000. The film, which premiered at The Ritz Cinema on April 7, was a Quarter-Finalist at the International British Film Festival 2023 and won the 'Best Experimental Film' award from the Titan International Film Festival in Sydney.
New Zealand-born Morcan may be a directorial debutante but as an author, he has considerable clout. The novel upon which the film is based is the first solo-authored title from the dozens of books he has written with his father, literary polymath, Lance Morcan. Among the duo's oeuvre are two best-selling novels, White Spirit and Into the Americas, the gripping international thriller series, The Orphan Trilogies, and the new release horror, Silent Fear, which their production company, Morcan Motion Pictures, is developing into a feature film. Also slated for production is the author's controversial non-fiction franchise, The Underground Knowledge Series, which spawned a popular YouTube podcast and one of the largest and most lively discussion groups on Goodreads. Also an actor of note, Morcan has appeared alongside the likes of Russell Crowe. Most recently he co-starred in three highly-rated features, After Armageddon (2016), and the Oz-Bollywood productions, Love You Krishna (2013), and My Cornerstone (2019), all of which he penned. His feature films have screened at cinemas in Australia, New Zealand, India, Italy, and Cannes.
The making of Anno 2020 is seat-of-the-pants guerrilla filming at its finest. The fact that the ambitious project was even started, let alone completed, is a triumph of collaboration and experimentation. Morcan divulges how a conglomeration of suddenly unemployed headline actors and bored, under-utilised crew members helped to piece the film together while the rest of the world sat glued to their couches in their pyjamas. "People were in lockdown, and they really wanted something to do, so we just attracted people who... were primarily more actor-producers who just wanted to join us." Explaining how he navigated the logistical and technical challenges of filming remotely in so many locations during travel bans, Morcan says that much of the filming was facilitated organically, adding that the timing was equally as important as the technologies they used. "People just said, 'Well, I've got a film crew and they're bored in Los Angeles or... I've got this red camera, or we've got friends in China,'" says Morcan, adding, "and it just grew and grew and grew to the point where we barely recognised it, you know, from our original plans.
As the location shoots expanded across borders, so too did the cast. In Anno 2020, a melange of instantly recognisable faces and high-profile international artists appear alongside a band of promising, lesser-known, performers. American perennials, such as Star Trek's, Kevin Scott-Allen, Brooklyn. Blue. Sky's, La Rivers, and consumate veteran actress, Sheila Ball, join with seasoned homegrown talents like The Chronicles of Narnia actor, Greg Poppleton and Blue Murder's, Gil Ben-Moshe, while esteemed Chinese American actress, Crystal J. Huang, and standout newcomer, Israeli actress, Lital Luzon, are among the multicultural cohorts who round out the cast. Quizzed on how he managed to attract such a stellar line-up of performers on no budget during a lockdown, Morcan explains, "It was basically like, you know, the cooperative theatre productions of yesteryear where everyone would get a slice of the pie," adding, "It was about making everyone a type of producer... so everyone is getting something out of it." True to this collaborative ethos each of the lead actors and key creatives on Anno 2020 received producer credits.
Anno 2020, despite its setting, is not about the Covid pandemic. Instead, it follows the cast of core characters as they navigate the relationship schisms, clashing beliefs, and core internal wounds that are made manifest by the forced confinement of the lockdowns. There are no hackneyed, 'My boyfriend and I were separated by the travel ban' narratives here, rather, in true 'Altmanesque-ensemble' style, a series of distinct narrative vignettes unfold and intersect. We see an alienated mother and daughter finding their way back to each other online when the mother is diagnosed with cancer and cannot access medical treatment. We see an aging gay man seeking connection with the family who ostracised him many years earlier, and we see a formerly-young man who realises he has wasted his life when he finds himself single and loveless while staring down the barrel of middle-age during lockdown.
Describing himself more as an 'author-director' with 'actorly' leanings, Morcan reveals his literary roots in the dexterous handling of the complex storylines, while the empathy his acting background fosters shows in the performers' ability to feel safe to express their vulnerability. "I think author-actor is the key background for me," says Morcan, adding, "because my style, I guess, is very pro-actor." In his words, "I'm big on the planning, but for this movie, I think it shows that there are other ways to make films and the film industry has kind of forgotten about that," adding, "Like, with that sort of preparation, you're trying to reduce any chaos, but Anno 2020 was almost about attracting chaos, chasing it, because that's what made it dangerous. That's what made it lively."
GREAT EFFORT FOR AN EXPERIMENTAL FILM
NORA_WISEMAN200022 April 2024
The film "Anno 2020" delves into the unique experience of life during the pandemic lockdown, offering a poignant exploration of relationships, family dynamics, and the fleeting nature of time. Despite its compelling premise, the film struggles with pacing issues, particularly in its extended runtime, making it challenging for viewers to stay engaged. While anchored by strong performances from actors Errin Connor and Greg Poppleton, the ensemble cast includes a mix of amateurs, resulting in uneven acting quality. Visually, the film lacks polish, with shortcomings in framing, lighting, and set design. However, standout musical moments and a compelling soundtrack contribute to its overall appeal. Ultimately, "Anno 2020" is an experimental endeavor born out of the constraints of the COVID-19 lockdown, showcasing the passion and dedication of its filmmakers, even if it falls short of professional standards.
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