Toronto Lockdown

A glimpse into the world during the first Covid wave.

  • Sallyanne Massimini
    Director
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    2 minutes 10 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    May 1, 2020
  • Production Budget:
    100 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Shooting Format:
    Iphone
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Sallyanne Massimini

Born in Connecticut, Sallyanne Massimini's love of storytelling began as a child, her old sketchbooks are filled with storyboards and creatures. After graduating cum laude from the Maryland Institute College of Art, Sal shifted from painter to visual effects artist and supervisor —

Garnering several EMMY VFX nominations, her credits include Fast and Furious, Straw Dogs, True Blood, Fringe, Once Upon a Time, Hemlock Grove and Banshee. Commercial clients include Prada, Target, Dodge Ram, Sunday Night Football, EA, Visa and Mountain Dew.

Transitioning to directing, her 2nd unit credits and commercial clients include Greenleaf, Imaginary Mary, Step Up, Steadicam and Auctiv. Sal was also the Second Unit Director/Producer on Season 3 of American Gods.

In 2020, Sal produced a worldwide Covid stock footage library shoot and sold the footage to Disney. Using her personal network of cinematographers, empty, quarantined cities were filmed throughout the world, including London, Paris, Rome, Mumbai, New York, and L.A.

In 2021 Sal was the VFX supervisor and 2nd unit director for the Billie Eilish movie Happier Than Ever, working with directors Robert Rodriguez and Patrick Osborne.

Most recently she has been directing the commercial campaigns for the Italian company “Cosabella” and keeping busy writing her own scripts (several features and a historical drama Irish witch series) and is developing a feature (produced by Ivy Agregan and Das films). She has also been selling her latest series of fine art prints, currently in shows across Europe.

* A link to Sal’s website with her work and credits:
* http://palopictures.com/

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Director Statement

I wanted to capture this unprecedented moment in history. The city was eerie, I'd never seen it so empty. The terrifying fear of the unknown, even the impossible. But... the beautiful thing that I saw while filming was how humanity still hung on. Love, laughter and hope have yet to be defeated.