The COVID-19 lockdowns changed life for every Novocastrian, but for film director Bharat Nalluri it has led to him not only falling in love with Newcastle, but making that commitment permanent.
The BAFTA and Emmy nominated filmmaker behind smash hit Netflix series Boy Swallows Universe came to Australia before the pandemic without real plans to stay put long term.
Five years later Nalluri, who was born in India and raised in the United Kingdom, is preparing to recite the pledge of commitment as an Australian citizen, and says he wants to bring more film projects to the Hunter.
Almost 180 new citizens from six continents will be sworn alongside Nalluri among their family and friends at Newcastle City Hall on September 5.
"COVID kept us here possibly longer than we were expecting and it was an accidental thing to start with, but then we've kind of fallen in love with being here," Nalluri said.
"I have anyway, and the kids feel really at home here. It feels like where they belong so it's made me want to become an Australian.
"I'm the last one of the family. My kids were born into being Australian with their mother and so I always felt like a slight outsider, but it's just fantastic really.
"It just happened so quickly. It's the last thing I was expecting maybe four or five years ago, but now it's arrived, I'm kind of thrilled."
Beyond the pandemic, Newcastle has also provided a sanctuary and a new place to explore amid a bustling life directing movies and television projects.
Along with Boy Swallows Universe, which picked up a swag of awards at this year's Logies, Nalluri's credits include miniseries Tsunami: The Aftermath and movies Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day and The Man Who Invented Christmas.
"It's like a traveling circus," Nalluri said. "You've got to kind of disappear for a while and then you come back.
"The great thing is you're either 24/7 on call or you're completely off call once you've finished.
"You can spend six, seven months before the next project and really get to know a place.
"So that's kind of what happened with Boy Swallows Universe. I was away in Brisbane filming quite a bit and got to know that city really well.
"And then I'd come back to Newcastle.
"I'm trying to persuade people to bring projects to Newcastle at the moment. I'd love to film something here."
Coincidentally, Nalluri grew up in another Newcastle, the one in the United Kingdom, which he said shares some similarities with the Australian version as well as one major difference.
"They're both kind of industrial towns or previously were industrial towns, coal and steel and ship building," he said.
"They've both transitioned. I think my Newcastle in England transitioned from that world into what is a big creative hub now and probably did it a few years before.
"So it was interesting when I arrived here with my wife when we first visited 10 to 15 years ago.
"I'd been through a similar transition in my Newcastle that this Newcastle was going through and so it was really interesting to see the energy that was coming out the city. It felt very vibrant and exciting.
"So there a lot of similarities actually... but just not so many similarities in the weather."
As well as India and the UK, the nature of Nalluri's work meant he also spent quite a bit of time in United States.
But for the foreseeable future, Australia is home.
"Australia is where I'm going to see the end of my days I think," he said. "We're just having a really spectacular time here."
And the best thing about Newcastle?
"It's a number of things," Nalluri said.
"I'm very lucky, we live in the center of the town, and there's not many cities in the world where you can walk to the beach in five minutes.
"I know people complain because they say the traffic's terrible. Honestly if you've lived in Los Angeles or New York or London or whatever, it's nothing. It's such a pleasurable city to get around and enjoy and be part of."
