Creatives throughout the entertainment industry have been coming up with innovative ways to continue telling stories during the coronavirus quarantine, and filmmakers Matthew Leutwyler and Anton Laines have raised the bar with their new series Disconnected.
Starring several actors from around the world -- including All My Children alum Christina Bennett Lind (ex-Bianca Montgomery) -- the series follows a group of friends who are tested by the COVID-19 pandemic in dramatic ways, such as: a Hollywood producer who discovers his survivalist side, an ex-con who tries to sell stolen PPEs, and a Chinese actress who finds that her diva tendencies are no longer accommodated.
Shooting the drama, which has a strong Stephen Soderbergh vibe, was an ambitious undertaking. A lot of coordination, editing, and ingenuity went into making the eight episodes, which were completely shot under quarantine in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, New York, Iowa, the U.K., India, and Rwanda -- all without breaking any rules around social distancing.
"A series that fell in our laps when it all started falling apart," shares Lind about taking part in the progressive project. "Proud to portray one of the heroes we teach [our daughter] Ruby to cheer for every night."
Disconnected is so well shot, most people won't even realize that it was filmed under tight quarantine. This feat was due to the series' dedicated team.
"Everyone uploads their footage to a Google drive and then our editor Will Gordon has the unenviable task of wrangling it all and synching it," Leutwyler told Movie Maker of how they did it. "Our colorist, Adrian, had a hell of a time getting it to look consistent but it's all part of this crazy experiment."
He adds, "The stuff in India... is directed over Zoom calls using the only camera they had available, an iPhone 6. We have been trying to get them an iPhone 10 but the lockdown there is so strict we can't get it to them."
Cast members of Disconnected include: Mark Kelly, Vincent Ventresca, and Erik Palladino in Los Angeles; Jenn Liu and Brandon Scott in Palm Springs; Lind and Gene Gallerano in New York; Audrey Uwimana in Iowa; April Pearson in Brighton, UK; Tara Alisha Berry, Nandini Sen, and Shoaib Kabeer in Mumbai, India; and Innocent Munyeshuri and Clarisse Umutoniwase in Kigali, Rwanda.
Check out the first episode of Disconnected below and let us know what you think in the Comments section at the end of the article.
Christina Bennett Lind landed the role of iconic All My Children character Bianca Montgomery in June 2010 and played the role until the show's ABC cancellation in September 2011. Some of her other television credits include Z: The Beginning of Everything, Dietland, and The Blacklist.
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