News release: March 7, 2024:
For Santa Monica-born actress Jessica Castello, playing the standout role of a daughter separated from a dying loved-one in her latest feature film was a case of make-believe reflecting real life.
In the soon-to-be-released, award-winning Anno 2020 – a mystery drama filmed and set in the cataclysmic year that was 2020 – Castello plays the role of a young exchange student locked down in Wuhan, China, and separated from her mother in Michigan after the outbreak of Covid-19.
Jessica Castello…making her mark in film.
The role of her mother, Heather, is played by acclaimed actress Sheila Ball (American Trash, A Prince and Pauper Christmas) whose character is dying of cancer, and the emotional scenes between her and Castello’s character, Emma, are among the most poignant in the movie.
Castello, best known for her starring role in the celebrated David Mueller-helmed Oildale (2019), says the filming of Anno 2020 was difficult for her in more ways than one.
“As well as being locked down like everyone else, I was separated from my Florida-based grandmother who was dying at the time,” she says. “She passed away during filming, so it was an especially emotional period for me.”
The Los Angeles actress says she also found it challenging having to act in the privacy of her Hollywood home and not on a traditional film set surrounded by other actors and crew.
“That was difficult because it’s harder to psych yourself up to play a scene in the comfort of your home. Fortunately, I clicked with Sheila (Ball) immediately, and she was a joy to work with. So nice yet so professional.”
In one scene, Castello, who is also a singer songwriter, sings ‘Chances Are (Emma’s Lullaby)’, one of the songs she wrote specifically for her character. That scene, part of a sequence filmed in a Los Angeles bar, was for her a highlight especially as she got to perform with other actors away from home, and more importantly, she says, because she got to sing.
Chinese American actress Crystal J. Huang (left) plays opposite Castello in Anno 2020 bar scene.
The 24-year-old strawberry blonde, who has been acting professionally since the age of 12, started in musical theater as a youngster, performing in many plays and musicals. She also wrote a musical for the stage, which she hopes to bring to light one day.
Castello recently scored representation with L.A. talent agency the Players Artists Agency. A move, she says, that has resulted in a bunch of auditions.
To say she is multi-talented would be an understatement. From the age of four she was a competitive figure skater, and she reveals at one stage she considered working toward qualifying for Olympic Games selection. Home-schooled through her junior years, she received her General Education Diploma at the tender age of 16 and went on to study criminal justice in college.
As well as starring in various supporting and lead screen roles, including her lead role in Oildale – a performance that earned her the Best Actress award at the Sene Film Festival – she has appeared in numerous national and international commercials. On top of that, a love of travel and a flair for the written word resulted in her being appointed editor of the popular online magazine Traveler.com.
Best Actress winner Jessica Castello singing in Oildale.
Castello says she was thrilled to be cast in Anno 2020 because it came at a time when the world was basically in lockdown and there was little going by way of acting opportunities.
“Working on this film was such a unique film experience. I don’t think I’ll ever be a part of something like that again. It has a special place in my heart!”
It turned out to be a good career move for her because the film has enjoyed recent success in film festivals – most notably winning the Titan International Film Festival’s ‘Best Experimental Film’ award, in Sydney, Australia, Quarter-Finalist status in the Best Film category at the International British Film Festival 2023, in London, as well as an official selection in the Symbiotic Film Festival in Ukraine.
Anno 2020’s lead producer, Sydney-based Gil Ben-Moshe, of MoneyShot Productions, says completion of the film was a triumph in the face of adversity given it was shot around the world at the height of the strict lockdowns.
“Its successful completion represents no small victory given the travel restrictions and other challenges thrown up by the pandemic,” he says. “Especially when you consider it spans 17 cities and five countries on four continents and was done on a shoestring budget of US$6,000.”
Ben-Moshe who is also an actor and who plays a memorable role in the film, says Castello was an absolute pleasure to work with.
“Even though Jessica is relatively young, she displayed a lot of maturity which was welcomed by the director and other cast members. What was most notable was her onscreen chemistry with veteran actress Sheila Ball.
Veteran American actress Sheila Ball.
“You can always identify the level of an actor by their demeanor on set. I cannot recall ever seeing Jessica overwhelmed or stressed during the filming of any of her scenes. She is a very confident, experienced, and versatile actress.”
Anno 2020 boasts an award-winning ensemble of international actors. Other cast members include leading Australians Greg Poppleton (Backtrack, The Chronicles of Narnia) and Erin Connor (Occupation: Rainfall, Dino King 3D), as well as US veterans Kevin Scott Allen (Star Trek, Alias, Prison Break) and Chinese American Crystal J. Huang (Dark Feathers).
For New Zealand director James Morcan, Anno 2020 represents his directorial debut. The Sydney-based director, who also acts in the film and who adapted the screenplay from his published novel of the same name, describes the movie as a global kaleidoscope of interconnected characters seeking redemption, forgiveness, and answers amidst the chaos of 2020.
“It’s a vignette film – a rare type of movie where there are various plots instead of just one,” he says. “These are told separately, but they all intersect at the end to ultimately become part of one larger story.”
Morcan says Jessica Castello was chosen out of 500 young American actresses who applied for the role of Emma.
“The role had a girl-to-woman character arc, and Jessica was versatile enough to pull off both an immature teenager and an independent woman. Once I discovered she is also a dynamic singer, we worked together to incorporate her musical side into the story. I’m excited to see what roles Jessica is cast for in future, and I hope to collaborate with her again on another film.”
Castello says Morcan is truly an actor’s director.
“James was absolutely wonderful!” she says. “He made sure everything went as smooth as possible, always asking for my opinion and ensuring I was a part of telling this story.”
Anno 2020 will celebrate its world premiere at a red-carpet event in Sydney on April 7. Beyond that, interstate cinematic screenings Australia-wide are planned, followed by screenings in New Zealand and possibly the US as well. The longer-term target includes online distribution on major streaming platforms.
The Anno 2020 trailer can be viewed at: https://www.youtube.com/@ANNO2020TheMovie
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Anno 2020 IMDb page: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13455748/
Jessica’s IMDb page: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5668913/
Jessica’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessicacastello/
Anno 2020 film industry site link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13455748/
Media enquiries:
Jessica Castello Ph. +1 561 523 0938 E: jessicacastello@hotmail.com
Gil Ben-Moshe Ph. +61 418 219 206 E: moneyshotgil@gmail.com
James Morcan Ph. +61 431 981 415 E: jamesmorcan@yahoo.com
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Morcan Books & Films 