Covid 19 … Sins & Virtues:  How Cameras Still Rolled in Lockdown Hollywood

In early April of 2020 and in the midst of the Covid19 pandemic, 50+ filmmakers organized to produce a feature film only using their phones, text messages and teleconferencing. They were in 2 separate countries and 17 remote set locations.

The theme? The cardinal 7 sins and 7 virtues. The rules? 1) To use only existing production equipment at hand: smart phone, tablets, computers or security cameras. No hi-end film cameras were allowed. 2) All 14 episodes were developed and filmed while in government-mandated isolation. 3) The episode must relate to the randomly assigned sin/virtue as the episode’s central theme. 4) The story must use COVID-19 forced isolation only as background. 5) Filmmakers had the freedom to choose genre, story, style and runtime.

The result was Covid19… Sins & Virtues, 14 episodes feature length anthology film and brainchild of entertainment executive Alex Mendoza.

“I’m so impressed and inspired by the worldwide creative response. I’m honored and privileged to be part of this unit of visionary filmmakers that put their trust in my vision, refusing to stay down for the count, when the industry was thrown down to the mat. I hope that our fictional stories are a tiny reflection of the billions of real stories out there, that we, as storytellers, still need to seek and share” said Mendoza.

Covid19…Sins & Virtues is produced by Mendoza and True Form Films Founder, actress/producer Yeniffer Behrens (The Way Back, Dave) and co-founder & partner, actor/producer Mauricio Mendoza (Resurrection Blvd, Criminal Minds).

It took two days to get together 14 creative teams. No open call was ever issued. All episodes were written and developed in less than three weeks. All episodes were filmed simultaneously by 17 different crews. Some episodes had more than one set location working together, all self-contained and self-sufficient on assets and talent. All episodes have now finished principal photography or are now being edited. Most episodes had finished principal photography as of May 15, 2020. Episode runtimes vary from 3-12 minutes.

The Hollywood experiment faced a tight schedule of only two months (this believed then) due to having set the challenge to finishing principal photography while still in isolation. Not wanting COVID19 to take center stage, a unifying theme was required to showcase the effects of isolation and uncertainty on human beings. All the good and the bad, all the sins and virtues.

The team behind Covid19… Sins & Virtues is a cross section of genders, races, nationalities, origins, film professions and experiences, all sharing a goal. Seasoned directors, producers and on-camera stars, all agreed to test the usual production stages required to produce a film.

The Anthology resulted in an eclectic collection of psychological studies of human behavior under extreme circumstances, told with an equally eclectic collection of styles and approaches.

The Cooperative is open to alternative routes of exhibition an distribution. They are already mulling about a sequel anthology film, COVID19… Sins & Virtues: The Second Wave.

About the producers: 

Alex Mendoza is a veteran film distribution executive having worked on the sales and distribution of libraries adding to more than 4,000 films and TV series in all rights, worldwide, including several blockbusters like Dirty Dancing, Princess Bride, Hamburger Hill, Young Guns, the Ace Ventura series, while working for companies like Vestron, Live Entertainment, Saban and Morgan Creek. In association with the American Cinematheque, he is also the founder and Executive Director of APERTURA Showcase, a periodical screening of Latino films at the epicenter of the film industry, The Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood.

Yeniffer Behrens is an award-winning Producer, CEO & Founder of True Form Films Inc., SAG AFTRA Actress, Writer and Director. Production credits include the feature film El Contratista(Amazon). Production work includes independent films in Mexico and the United States, the web series Encounters, the feature film After School, the documentary Create Option C, short films: From Now On (directed by legendary actress Ivonne Coll) and Mi Amor and music videos The Power of One and Come Get It, to name a few. Acting credits English and Spanish films including The Way Back (Warner Bros.) with Ben Affleck; The award-winning series Grey’s Anatomy (ABC) and Netflix’s hit comedy series Grace and Frankie. Additional credits include commercials, national and international primetime and daytime shows.

Mauricio Mendoza is an award-winning Producer Partner and Co-Founder of True Form Films, Actor and Writer. In an assertive move to change things in Hollywood he became executive producer of the Imagen Award-winning web seriesEncounters. Production credits include: El Contratista (Amazon), After School,Fighting Chance, SinVergüenzas,The Shifting and Intolerance; Short films:Mi Amor, It Can Only Be Used Once (directed by Michael DeLorenzo), From Now On directed by legendary actress Ivonne Coll (Jane the Virgin),Between the Lights, the award-winning One directed by iconic actor Carlos Carrasco (Blood In Blood Out); music videos:The Power Of One Recuperar; documentaries Him and Her, and The Real Faces of Dialysis. Acting credits include: four groundbreaking Latino based TV shows including as a series regular in Angeles (Sony/TriStar/Telemundo) Resurrection Blvd.(Showtime), El Desconocido (CineLatino/Netflix) and La Quinceañera (Stage 13/Warner Bros.), TV series The Rookie, Adam Ruins Everything and Counterpunch. Films: America’s Family, Alive! and Out of Place and over 50 theater credits.

Participants Include:

Jon Allen, Sergio Arau, Fidel Arizmendi, Wendi Bazar-Besasie, Yeniffer Behrens, Adan Bernal, Carlo Besasie, Caroline Brethenoux, Michael Cherek, Camille Cortes, Jason  Coulter, Mochi DaKat, Hernan De Beky, Kim DeVenne, Olivia DeVenne, Alejandro Edda, Jasmin Espada, Tristan Founce, César Gamiño, Frances Garcia, Emmaluna Garcia, Michael Garcia, Hugo García, Juan Gil, Falco IlCaninus, Marabina Jaimes, Arthur Koutsoumbaris, Susie Lohse, Betty Lopez, Alassandra Lopez, Eddie Martinez, Ashley Martinez, Paulo Martinez, Amy Martinez, Andres Mendoza, Alex Mendoza, Mauricio Mendoza, Julianna Mia Mendoza-Behrens, Adrian Moreira-Behrens, Antonio Ogaz, Miguel Paredes, Laura Patalano, Brittany Patalano, Shanay Patalano, Salim Sanchez, Jesus Schettino, Jessica Thomas-Martinez, Chuti Tiu, Alex Toedtli Mera, Oscar Torre, Savira  Windyani and Sofia Yepes.

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