Unlocked Lockdown Jamii Video

Unlocked: A Flow of Colourful Connections in Lockdown

Photograph of apartment building balconies. On the two lowest balconies are two women who are holding yellow balloons. On the middle left balcony is a man looking down at the lower balcony.

Engaging Seniors Unlocked, 2021 Heritage Toronto Awards Public History Nominee. Image: Isorine Marc.

Collection of nine images of women sitting at a table with a large microphone in front of them.

Voice recording session, Unlocked, 2021 Heritage Toronto Awards Public History Nominee. Image: Isorine Marc.

Photograph of a group of six people looking at a video camera. The person holding the camera is sitting on a green park bench with a young girl sitting beside them. Behind them are many trees and the sun is shining.

Cast and crew of Unlocked, 2021 Heritage Toronto Awards Public History Nominee. Image: Isorine Marc.

Project Organization: Jamii Esplanade

Date of Release: July 20, 2020

“Unlocked: A Flow of Colourful Connections in Lockdown” is a short film that captures the personal journey of eleven women during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the Spring of 2020, eleven women were asked to express artistically how three months of isolation had affected their sense of identity. “Unlocked”, an abstract symphony of thoughts, emotions, and reflection, offers a window into the emotional lives of women. From isolated days that connected them with close family, to sleepless nights which drew them to take a closer look inward, to a new relation to time that led them to dive into forgotten interests, these stories invite the viewer to contemplate how the pandemic has impacted each of us differently.

Filmed entirely in the Esplanade neighbourhood — in the middle of the road, in a living room, under balconies, in the park — these interwoven stories express feelings of joy and comfort, melancholy and hope, loss and love through poetry, song, dance, sculpture, painting and photography.

“Unlocked” was created by a team of 17 professional artists who contributed to the project, featured the voices of 11 women of the Esplanade neighbourhood, and engaged about 20 Esplanadians in front of the camera. It premiered on July 24th and 25th 2020, at the Berkeley Castle, with 80 attending in-person.