The Lost Jacket

The story of our Short Film “The Lost Jacket” is about a young girl from Athens, Emily, who lives temporarily in another country for her internship. Unfortunately, her stay there is not as she expected, since her life is a boring routine and these few months feel like a decade for her. One random night though, a pleasant surprise is waiting at her door. It’s her boyfriend, who came from Athens to surprise her, bringing her favourite jacket. The time goes by really fast while he’s there, but when he leaves, the jacket mysteriously disappears. From that moment, everything looks like a mind game for our protagonist, in which nothing makes sense.

The film delves into modern society and the loneliness and the alienation that comes with it. Later on, it explores facing problems and overcoming them. Emily is a young woman struggling to find her place in a world that feels alien and isolating. Despite her best efforts to adapt, she finds herself increasingly at odds with the reality she sees around her. In a desperate bid to cope, she retreats into her own mind, crafting an alternate reality that better aligns with her desires and aspirations. Sadly, this tendency towards self-delusion is all too common in our modern society, where isolation and disconnection have become endemic. As the film progresses, Emily's journey of self-discovery becomes increasingly surreal and dreamlike, blurring the lines between what is real and what is imagined. In the haunting final moments of the film, the discovery of a lost jacket raises profound questions about the nature of reality and the human psyche.

Blending elements of mystery, drama and comedy, this film follows the emotional journey of Emily as she navigates the complexities of her troubled life. Initially presented in a lighthearted and comical tone, Emily's struggles are recounted through a series of humorous vignettes shared with a stranger in the park. As her story progresses and her long-absent boyfriend reappears, the film shifts to a more romantic and melancholic tone, punctuated by fleeting moments of happiness that are all too quickly snatched away. When Emily's beloved jacket goes missing, however, the film takes a darker turn, with the stakes escalating until Emily is forced to confront the harsh realities of her situation. In the poignant final moments of the film, Emily finally comes to terms with her pain, embracing her sadness and finding a measure of peace in the process. The story turns from slice of life to mystery and it is set in our current time period. It was inspired by real events that happened to our film's writer Emily Tsikoli.

The film's visual style is anchored in natural lighting and colours, both indoors and outdoors. Rather than altering the natural hues, lighting equipment was used to enhance and complement them. The film expertly employs warm and light tones during moments of ease, while cooler and darker tones convey uneasiness. The film strikes a balanced pace with its editing, not too fast nor too slow, in order to skillfully showcase both the mundane and mysterious moments of the protagonist's life, effectively immersing the audience in her emotional journey without succumbing to monotony. The sound design expertly captures the essence of the film, enhancing moments of uneasiness and imbuing a subtle, yet unsettling, sense of dread.