While movie production sets were shut down everywhere during the pandemic, there was one exception for the movie Songbird. It was the first movie to be filmed in Los Angeles during lockdown.
Songbird is a dystopian romantic thriller set in the year 2024 and is based off the Covid-19 pandemic. The world is in its fourth year of lockdown and the virus has mutated into the Covid-23 variant. Those infected have a high rate of mortality but there are some who have natural immunity and are allowed to move about freely without restrictions. The story takes place in Los Angeles and is about Nico, a courier, who is immune to the virus and tries to save his girlfriend Sarah from being forcibly admitted to a quarantine camp known as a Q-Zone by the LA Department of Sanitation. (Wikipedia).
The idea for the movie was conceived in March 2020 just as the pandemic arrived in the United States. Its timing could not have been more controversial and critics accused the producers of being tone death. Production began in July that year and filming wrapped up on August 3, 2020. The film was released on December 11, 2020.
I enjoyed watching the movie and felt the futuristic aspect of it was quite good and realistic but the plot was weak in parts and it felt like there were gaps missing. Overall, it scored 9% on Rotten Tomatoes and the general consensus of the movie was “muddled, tedious, and uninspired, Songbird‘s gimmick never coalesces into a meaningful story about pandemic lockdown.” According to IMDB the film grossed $620,836 worldwide and the movie soundtrack was Leap of Faith written and performed by Lila Sugarman.
An article for The Los Angeles Times published on December 10, 2020 explains why producer Adam Goodman felt it was the right time to make this movie: “We’re living in a scary time, and the reason the movie is sparking conversation is because it resonates with what we’re experiencing today. The reason why the movie is called ‘Songbird’ is it’s about hope. It’s about resilience. It’s about the strength of the human spirit” (Rottenberg).
Click the YouTube link below to watch the official Songbird trailer. Enjoy the movie, and remember to “stay safe, sane, and sanitized.”
Social Media Trends as of April 30, 2022
Facebook #songbirdmovie: 1,200 people are posting about this
Instagram #songbirdmovie: 6,471 posts
TikTok #songbirdmovie: 11.4 million views
YouTube #songbirdmovie: less than 100 videos and channels
Google Trends: songbird movie achieved peak popularity during the week of October 25, 2020.
Sources
Rottenberg, Joseph. “Coronavirus thriller ‘Songbird’ was filmed during the COVID pandemic. How, and why, they did it.” The Los Angeles Times. December 10, 2020. URL: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-12-10/songbird-explained-coronavirus-movie.
“Songbird.” International Movie Database (IMDB). URL: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12592252/.
“Songbird.” Rotton Tomatoes. URL: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/songbird_2020.
“Songbird.” Wikipedia. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songbird_(2020_film)#Release.
“Songbird film poster.” Wikipedia. 30 October 2020. URL: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/90/Songbird_film_poster.png.
“Songbird | Official Trailer.” STX Films. October 29, 2020. URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgxXSfto6Vo.
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