Global shoot completed during height of pandemic
Against all odds, not least of those being the COVID19 pandemic, associated lockdowns and travel restrictions, an Australian production company has wrapped their ambitious, global feature film shoot, for the soon-to-be-released Anno 2020.
The final scene of Anno 2020 has been shot and post-production has officially begun.
The ambitious film, shot in 17 cities on four continents required camera crews and cast from around the world. It features dialogue in English, Hebrew, Mandarin and Italian, and boasts an award-winning ensemble of international actors, including leading Australians Greg Poppleton (Backtrack, The Chronicles of Narnia) and Erin Connor (Occupation: Rainfall, Dino King 3D), as well as US veterans Kevin Scott Allen (Star Trek, Alias, Prison Break) and Sheila Ball (Assault on VA-33).
Directed by James Morcan, who also stars in the film, and produced by MoneyShot Productions (Gil and Oren Ben-Moshe), the film looks at the chaos that the world descended into during Anno MMXX – the year 2020 – particularly the ugly phenomenon of Holocaust denial, which the film addresses head on.
One scene in particular is quite explosive, which the filmmakers believe will make an emphatic statement about the alarming and fascistic reasons why certain people still attempt to deny the historically verified genocide.
Filmed in Sydney’s South Head Cemetery, a solitary mourner, played by Gil, remonstrates with an antisemitic visitor, played by Morcan. Ben-Moshe’s character directly confronts Morcan when he overhears him inform a carer that the Holocaust was all just “a hoax” and that “six million Jews did not die”.
What’s explosive, according to Ben-Moshe, is that the antisemitic mindset still exists in all Holocaust deniers. “It is obviously an extremely sensitive subject to capture on film, but somehow by laying bare the unyielding hatred individuals like James’ character possess, we will hopefully display to film audiences the everyday challenges Jews face in the wider world,” he said. “And by giving a Holocaust-denying character enough rope, he, of course, eventually hangs himself when he is shown to have zero historical facts as my character systematically debunks his erroneous theories one by one.”
The irony of the scene is the Morcan co-authored a book in 2016 titled Debunking Holocuast Denial Theories, with the assistance of Holocaust survivors.
The Jewish themes continue through the film with another scene shot inside Sydney’s Kehillat Kadimah. The scene features both Gil and Oren together, alongside actor and politician Michael Gencher, performer Geoff Sirmai and teacher from Moriah College, Yonatan Barukh. Scenes are also shot on location in Tel Aviv, with Israeli actress Lital Luzon playing Gil’s long-distance love interest.
For Ben-Moshe, getting into character wasn’t too hard, considering his character is semi-biographical. “We were raised in a rough inner-city area of Sydney,” he said. “And being the only Jewish family in the neighbourhood was difficult. We weren’t accepted by our neighbours and integration in the community was an impossibility. Vilification, antisemitism, and violence became part of our daily lives over the next two-and-a-half decades.”
Next up for the team is completing the post-production process which includes developing the soundtrack. “We expect the soundtrack will be absolutely crucial for a sensitive, character-driven film such as this. To shape the sound of the film, we are in talks with Kim Allen Kluge and Kathryn Kluge, the Oscar-nominated husband-and-wife-composing team who previously created the score for Martin Scorsese’s 2016 film Silence, starring Liam Neeson,” Ben-Moshe said.
Ben-Moshe also says revolutionary filmmaking methods had to be devised to work around the lockdowns. “This was achieved in part by utilising new technologies, and we were extraordinarily fortunate to attract renowned film industry partners in each city who helped us navigate the numerous obstacles confronting us,” he said.
The immediate goal for the team is to raise finishing funds so they can complete Anno 2020 and the film can earn acceptance into major film festivals later this year. The long-term goal is a theatrical release, followed by online distribution on major streaming platforms.
comments