Worlds pioneering series about gay relationships under quarantine
Unlocked is a six-episode anthology series originally scheduled to be released on June to commemorate the LGBTQ+ Pride Month, but due to an extremely difficult production process, it was postponed.
As many other places around the world, Metro Manila has been under quarantine since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, and with it most film productions came to a complete halt. This did not stop director Adolfo Alix Jr., whose films include Donsol, Adela, Manila and Death March, to conceptualize and help produce Unlocked, the world’s first series about gay relationships under lockdown. Unlocked is a six-episode anthology series originally scheduled to be released on June, in order to commemorate the LGBTQ+ Pride Month, but due to an extremely difficult production process, it was postponed to 9 July. Each episode focuses in a different kind of loving relationship put to test under lockdown. “The issue of love is universal. During the early days of the quarantine in Metro Manila, a number of my LGBT friends were trying to understand the ‘new normal’ given the realities of the pandemic. It was then that it occurred to me that it would be interesting to develop stories that highlight the pandemic as an inciting circumstance to examine their relationships,” explained Alix. “I wanted to develop stories where the circumstances of the pandemic are a catalyst for a deeper examination of relationships. It acts as a purgation of sorts — be it the physical distance or the paranoia of the situation. They become more vulnerable to the stressors around them — hardships, work stress and difficult relationships with their partners, family or friends. Given that they now have more time together and locked in the confines of limited space, emotions and realities are unlocked which will test their relationships either for the good or the worse. So, it can be about couples, families, friends or by themselves as they confront not only the fear of contracting the virus but also the uncertainty of the times and their relationships.”
The six stories tell about a heartbroken man who hires a prostitute to help him cope with loneliness (“Andrew and Brix”); a long-term gay couple who need to reevaluate their relationship after being forced to be together 24/7 (“Calvin and Drake”); a single mother trying to connect with her lover who is a nurse in the United States (“Eli and Frankie”); an elder professor reflecting on his life after his young neighbor knocks on the door; a teenage boy coming of age and realizing about his real self during lockdown; and a man alone in his apartment experiencing a breakdown.
Unlike other recent quarantinethemed productions like Netflix’s
Homemade and HBO’s At Home where directors filmed themselves in their homes, Metro Manila’s regulations allowed Alix and a skeleton crew of four people to shoot at the director’s and actors’ homes. However, this did not come without complications as many permissions did not arrive on time and many episodes had to be recast to accommodate all the schedule changes.
I wanted to develop stories where the circumstances of the pandemic are a catalyst for a deeper examination of relationships. It acts as a purgation of sorts — be it the physical distance or the paranoia of the situation.
Among the slate of actors are the Norwegian-Filipino singer and actor Markki Stroem, known for his role in the first season of Pilipinas
Got Talent; indie film darling Oliver Aquino; Angeli Bayani, known for her role in Anthony Chen’s debut feature Ilo Ilo (2013); and veteran actor Joel Saracho, art house director Lav Diaz’s long-time collaborator.
Alix was really grateful that everyone was willing to participate in the project, no matter the risks involved, but the utmost safety of everyone was prioritized: “They all had the difficult task of playing characters that have become more vulnerable to the stressors around them (hardships, work stress, and difficult relationships with their partners, family or friends), while we all were suffering the same circumstances in real life.”
The first episode of Unlocked, “Andrew and Brix,” premiered on 9 July on GagaOOLala (https://www. gagaoolala.com/en/videos/1648/ unlocked-2020-e01), with a new episode releasing every week. GagaOOLala also partnered with Alix to promote #ExtendtheLove, the director’s fundraising project to help film workers in the Philippines during the quarantine. During the six-week release window for
Unlocked, the streamer will donate P25 for every new subscriber coming on to the platform. More information on #ExtendtheLove at https://www. facebook.com/ExtendTheLove. Unlocked is written by Jerome D. Zamora. Executive producers are Alix and Jay Lin, while associate producers are Jaime Costas Nicolás and Maria Corazon Villar.