Lockdown Lovers

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While tensions with mainland China are certainly exacerbated by the pandemic, not in the least when Hong Kong’s “huge surplus” is sent away as aid, Hong Kong is now engaged in a struggle with itself. Lockdown Lovers is a five-part love story set in lockdown conditions in two regions, Asia and Europe. A few weeks of lockdown turned into a few months, and quickly it felt like their relationship had switched up several gears.

I think the big thing will be how our relationship will be in normal life, because we have been in such a bubble with each other. Phoebe is a twenty-something Hong Kong activist and recently elected local councilor, Kwok-ying is a government health official, and the pangolin is one of the mammals reported as being at the root of the virus. One of O’Sullivan’s three narrators is John, who is an Irish professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.The episodic cut of the low budget movie that I wrote (Lockdown Lovers) is now TX-ing in weekly webisodes on Lilydale Films' Flunk Channel on YouTube. Stream the full feature length movie NOW on Vimeo Special extended cut – over 2 hours long Includes EXCLUSIVE scenes you won’t see on YouTube Bonus behind the scenes interviews with the cast Support independent filmmakers to create uplifting lesbian love stories. We meet John, who sits in a 24-hour McDonald’s in the Hong Kong suburb of Sai Kung, sipping warm water and ruminating on the state of the city. He delivers groceries and medicine to his parents’ porch but the pain is too much when he sees them staring at him from twenty feet away behind the porch door.

When she heard about the number of fledgling couples moving in together during lockdown, the Relate therapist Simone Bose wasn’t surprised. In an illuminating metaphor he asks: “was there some kind of invisible connection that hung in the air between people at such times? I had to chuckle when I came across this part because thirty years ago I, too, spent my lunch hours in the same spot, pouring through back issues of the Far Eastern Economic Review to see if Jiang Qing and Pol Pot were still alive.Pushed to the limits of their endurance in lockdown and then quarantine conditions, John Ryan, a Hong Kong academic, and Phoebe Ho, a Hong Kong district councilor, decide to break the rules of their quarantine and rediscover what has been denied them for too long - impassioned human contact. After matching, they went on Zoom dates and got to know each other before meeting up in a park just outside of Glasgow. All of the candles are amazing and I don’t find them overly flowery beautiful subtle scents - good for the soul!

This entry was posted in 2021 Books, 2023 Entries, Cha Review of Books and Films, Lockdown Lovers, Lucy Hamilton, Lucy Hamilton—Cha, Michael O'Sullivan, Michael O'Sullivan, Lockdown Lovers, Penguin Random House SEA, Penguin Random House SEA. The Cork setting may seem convenient only because it’s O’Sullivan’s own home town, but, as it turns out, he adds a fascinating Hong Kong connection to this part of the story. No teddybears or hearts, just wax and a few other parts: Sandalwood smells really good, Rose for our favourite hoes and Oud to set the mood.

As John traverses the city and feels the splashes of street disinfectant on his bare calves, we’re reminded that for many, it wasn’t the virus itself that left us weakened and exhausted, but the clean-up operation, the nose swabs and restrictions. Always delivered with a cheeky grin and a thunderous onstage energy, his eclectic sets have torn the roof off nightclubs and festival stages across the globe. During the first lockdown, there was a period where we essentially spent four months completely in each other’s company every day, and we both were working from home. Lilydale Films has amassed a global audience through their hit web-series Flunk, which garnered 150 million views across YouTube and sparked two spin-off feature films. While the facemasks make people “indistinguishable”, O’Sullivan’s characters remain intensely unique, enduring their own manifestation of vulnerability and loneliness.

O’Sullivan penetrates deep, lending an emotional and socio-historical richness to his characters that elevates the story from a character drama to a uniquely moving social critique.

At the same time, John knows he should stay back with Sue and Sam, yet still goes ahead with his trip to Ireland. With nowhere to go, Kristal accepts Lisette’s invitation to stay with her, until the pandemic is over. Written by Danny Spring, the romantic drama was produced by Forster alongside Lilydale Films’ Melanie Rowland and was shot in studio and on location in Victoria’s Yarra Valley with the support of VicScreen and Screen Australia.