The Lossen

The inspiration for The Lossen came whilst I was researching a documentary about the differences in attitudes towards death in the East and West. Sadly in the West death is still a taboo subject and most people want to avoid any thought of the inevitable.

The opening scene of the The Lossen came to me as a daydream. I could see the imposing figure of the Grim Reaper, scythe in hand, walking down the path of an impressive, old country house. It raps on the door awakening Sylvia, a woman in her 70s and in the final moments of her life, but this Reaper is not what we expect and so The Lossen an agent of death appears.

This dramatic opening scene gave me the perfect opportunity to write a script that would begin a journey to turn our view of death on its head and show us a possibility of what could be, but in an entertaining and gripping way. It reflects one of the key themes of the film; that death is not what we think it is.

With an interest in the supernatural since childhood and a belief that life continues after death, this was a perfect story for me to explore, bringing together the natural and supernatural worlds, embodied in the characters of the ever-present Sylvia and the mysterious Lossen, an attractive, confident, yet other worldly young man.

As the story unfolds there is a complication with Sylvia's passing, she has not fulfilled her dream, despite living a life of material success. Sylvia has deeply buried and suppressed the one thing her heart desired; a revelation that may hit home to many of us.

All storytelling is a journey to enlightenment, a discovery of something that is missing within us. As a writer and director I want to entertain and connect emotionally with an audience through a character’s journey. To give an audience the opportunity to reflect on their own lives is the ultimate reward as a film maker.

The Lossen, along with his weary Assistant, metaphorically drags Sylvia kicking and screaming on her journey using his supernatural “tools” to push her to the limit and face her demons. Inevitably she is taken to the very foundation of what caused her to drift from her heart’s desire.

The relationship between the Lossen and Sylvia is a battle of wits, he with his arrogance and relentlessness to achieve his goal against her feisty and incessant resistance. It makes for a powerful on-screen conflict and reflects the resistance in us all to change and drift from our passions. The film begs the question, whose life are we living?

The Lossen combines fear with humour, quirkiness and deep emotional revelations, all in a magical yet real context.

I believe that we have a knowingness in our hearts about our journey in life and making this film is certainly helping me to realise my own dreams. If we lived without fear we could be a greater version of ourselves.

Colin Skevington
Director - The Lossen.