Backlot Productions Partners with Boundless Films to Produce Feature Documentary “UNLOCKED” Revealing the Silent Impact of COVID-19 Lockdowns
In Collaboration with Columbia University, Princeton University, The Smithsonian, the New Orleans Historic Collection and more.
Backlot Productions, founded by Journalist-Turned-Filmmaker Dana Richie, and Boundless Films, led by Founder & CCO Francesco Lucarelli, announce 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 trailer.
“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.
Award-winning Richie honed her storytelling skills at CNN, ABC News 20/20 and Viacom/ VH1/ MTV Networks/ Viacom before opening her own film company, Backlot Productions. Lucarelli, a 25-year healthcare veteran, launched BOUNDLESS FILMS in 2022 to focus on important healthcare and adjacent stories following a career that included Novo Nordisk, Novartis, PAREXEL, Thomson, and McCann Health.
For more information, visit www.unlockedfilm.com
About Backlot Productions
Founded by Dana Richie, Backlot Productions is a content production company specializing in documentary filmmaking. Their recent film “Trustworthy,” which focuses on journalism advocacy, trust in media and democracy is currently screening nationwide, most recently with NashFilm, Nashville’s Film Festival, The Vanderbilt Unity & American Democracy Project and The Society of Professional Journalists. . In addition, Backlot Productions recently partnered with Revelations Entertainment (Morgan Freeman’s company) on a global documentary titled “Kumari Girls” about living goddesses in Nepal. Finally, their film “Gateway” about the opioid epidemic received over thirty awards and recognitions on the festival circuit. Dana Richie is currently repped by UTA. She won best first-time director at the Top Shorts Film Festival.
About Boundless Films
An independent film company exclusively focused on telling healthcare-related stories of importance to our society. Boundless Films provides opportunities for companies and brands to share their unique stories in documentary format. Boundless Films delivers Hollywood-quality production that reaches people with powerful, emotive storytelling. Short-format and long-format documentaries bring credibility unparalleled in any other medium and allow viewers to connect at a more personal level.
Together, Boundless and Backlot bring decades of expertise in storytelling and production capabilities to amplify emotive narratives that resonate with all audiences.
