Private Project

Divine Origins

Alone during the summer holidays, Ama (16) is trying to piece together her parents’ growing distance. As her father Ike retreats further into himself, and her mother Orna turns more embittered by his absence, Ama hides in the dark, listening for glimpses into their crumbling lives.

Disillusion rising, Ama meets Sam one afternoon, a lifeguard she recognises from the swimming ponds. His advances lead to a night together, where she encounters an otherworldly woman in the water. As interior and exterior worlds meet, Ama faces a ghost who speaks to the mysterious interconnectedness of our lives, within families and across time.

  • Milla Lewis
    Director
  • Milla Lewis
    Writer
  • Xanvier Alexander Allison
    Producer
  • PASCALE KANN
    Key Cast
    "Ama"
    September Says,
  • ZUBIN VARLA
    Key Cast
    "Ike"
    A Little Life
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    15 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    March 16, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    16,000 GBP
  • Country of Origin:
    United Kingdom
  • Country of Filming:
    United Kingdom
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Milla Lewis

MILLA LEWIS is a UK filmmaker whose work focuses on the intersection of history, memory and myth. After earning a First Class degree in Photography from Brighton University, where she received the Nagoya University Award of Excellence in the Arts, Milla was selected for the Directing Mentorship Programme at the prestigious National Film School in Łódź, Poland. There she wrote and directed Mercy, which earned her the Sundance Ignite Fellowship in 2023, recognising her as one of ten emerging filmmakers worldwide.

In 2024, Milla wrote and directed her second short film Divine Origins, supported by the Sundance Institute. Her films have screened internationally, including at Tirana International Film Festival, the 14th LGBT Film Festival Poland, and 225 Club at the BFI.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

I am interested in what we see when we look at our past, and if this past leaves a molecular and spiritual residue. All of our ghosts are coming to us - they require something of us. What should we do with those family ‘ghosts’ that often make surprising appearances in our lives?

From an early age, I understood that there were invisible and unspoken factors shaping my upbringing and worldview. This was compounded by the stories and myths of my grandparents, their parents, and ancestors further back. Each life seemed to haunt the next; like a thick, black stream collecting debris as it travels, so I came to see these past lives as an undercurrent coursing almost imperceptibly through the lives of my parents, my siblings and me.

Each act of self contains an unknowable legacy of many past individuals, which have all played a part in how we understand ourselves. Singular events that happened generations ago can trickle down into our lives, and have a subtle yet profound impact on it. My filmmaking is driven by a desire to bring to light these invisible currents.