Enter the world of Lorne
Incorrect password Private · For invited readers
When it comes for you, I hope you can forgive me.
95 min · Psychological drama · Feature
A despondent young woman trapped in isolation and haunted by prophetic dreams navigates the fractured relationship with her long-lost father who shares the same visions.
Marissa, a troubled young woman living in rural isolation, is haunted by prophetic dreams of an approaching danger. When her long-lost father, Lorne, suddenly returns with visions of his own, the two cautiously navigate their fractured relationship, but Marissa soon begins to question the nature of their psychic connection, and if she can even trust her father at all.
How can you trust your fellow man when you do not trust yourself?
This film dives into the existential, which is very much a key component of the original short, while also exploring death, grief and the breakdown of the traditional family life, how family can betray you, how those things can lead to a sense of distrust not only to those around you, but the distrust in ourselves.
This film is for the people who have ever experienced the cold rush of fear after walking through a room, looking into the corner, and swearing someone was looking back. For those who have felt abandoned, lost, and forgotten. This is for the believers in something outside of themselves, an audience that looks deeper and finds peace with knowledge.
Lorne serves as a messenger for the inevitable; a reflection of our shared experiences, laden with anxieties, fears, and trauma. As we return to a broken home, we strive to salvage hope from the rubble left behind. We collectively embody Marissa, desperately trying to mend our fractured families while witnessing Lorne, Elise, and Murray repeat their mistakes time and again.
Yet beneath it all lies a darker kind of hope. Lorne is convinced that he and Marissa have been intertwined in past lives and that death might finally offer them a chance to begin anew. His quest to reset everything is both monstrous and tender, fuelled by the belief that this time, in another existence, it could be different. The cruelest aspect of a broken family is often our decision to believe it can't be fixed, leading us to reach for anything but true repair. This is our response to our upbringing; a poignant reminder that some cycles may never truly be broken.
A despondent and misunderstood young woman dealing with isolation and her growing awareness of her psychic connection with her father. Buried beneath a family history steeped in silence, she does what she can to survive and to protect those she loves.
A broken man returning from years of self-imposed exile, driven by guilt and haunted by forces he can no longer outrun. Once a father, once a husband, now something in between: a ghost of a man carrying too many unspoken truths.
A stern and devout woman worn down by illness, grief, and time. Her body betrays her with violent seizures. She clings to faith; it's the only thing that helped her survive her husband's absence and her daughter's spiral.
A kind and grounded man. A rock; the kind of steady presence Marissa and Elise need, even if he could never truly replace what was lost. He carries a gentleness that contrasts the emotional volatility around him.
A pious man who leans on tradition. He believes without it, the world or what is left of it would fall apart. He tries to become a stabilising pillar of the community while trying to raise his daughter Natalie as he heals from his own dark past.
A young and free-spirited yet naive girl torn between her love of Marissa and her overbearing father, Joshua. She aches to be free of the isolated town she has become a part of and hopes they can run away together.
lorn (adj.) — forsaken
In the desolate expanse of 'Lorne', the Australian bushland stretches endlessly, enveloping its inhabitants in a realm seemingly suspended beyond the grasp of time. This world resonates with the haunting isolation felt by those who live far from the remnants of society. The landscape, both beautiful and harsh, serves not just as a backdrop for souls ensnared in a post-apocalyptic existence, but as a relentless force, as the forest seems to encroach upon the town like an insidious plague, claiming spaces once vibrant with life.
'Lorne' is infused with profound spiritual energy, where the weight of memories lingers in the air, reminiscent of places long abandoned yet vibrantly alive with emotion. Here, the spirits of the past intertwine with the living, imbuing the land with an unsettling essence, much like a haunted locale or an object bearing a curse. The townsfolk, resilient yet weary, inhabit a world that feels both timeless and forsaken, their homes gradually absorbed by the encroaching wilderness.
At key moments, Lorne uses point of view to force the viewer inside the world. A visual language born in the short, built to trap you in the moment.
Desaturated and cold, the visual palette features a haunting milky-green cast, with shadows that provoke a sense of unease. The choice of colour not only heightens the atmosphere but also doubles down on thematic elements of decay and mystery.
The viewer's eye will feel the unsettled reality and distrust of the edge-of-frame shadows, much like Hereditary, and blend in and out of realities seamlessly, as in Manchester by the Sea. The camera stays still in long, patient frames and movement is motivated by character. In intimate moments it goes handheld and close, creating real and raw moments with the characters.
Mood and atmosphere, not a blueprint.
The house is unfinished, a shell of faded memories. A family that once was happy but ended before they had the chance to finish.
The film's approach to dream sequences isn't about spectacle or elaborate effects. It is a much more fluid and nuanced exploration of consciousness. Instead of simply cutting to a dream, the transition is seamless and organic. The lighting dims, the air cools, a cloth stirs with a sudden breeze that seems to emerge from nowhere.
There's an unsettling presence lurking at the edge of our perception, in the shadows just beyond the frame, crafting an atmosphere that's both familiar and disorientating. In these moments, the lens transforms reality in subtle ways, inviting viewers to question whether they are awake or immersed in a dream.
Fear arises not from what you see, but from what you suspect… in others and within yourself.
Touchstones — Hereditary · Manchester by the Sea
The score moves between beauty and dread so smoothly you don't notice the turn. We are collaborating with composer Alexis Grapsas (Pig, A Quiet Place: Day One) to build a soundscape that belongs to this world alone.
Composer — Alexis Grapsas
The success of our short film touring major festivals worldwide from 2016 proved there was something unique in the style of storytelling captured. After being released on the YouTube channel Omeleto in 2018, the film has continued to grip audiences all over the world, with comment sections pulsing with interest and curiosity. Its fresh understanding of isolation and its artistic execution has led to Jesse being optioned to direct several larger bodies of work, and it has become a part of several academic curricula.
Watch the proof-of-concept shortLorne is a completed feature screenplay with a proven proof of concept: our award-winning short, starring Guy Pearce, has reached over 290k organic views and toured major festivals worldwide.
We're looking for a production company to partner with us on this film. Specifically, we need:
Producers attached who will drive the project through development, financing and production
Executive Producer/s to lend weight, credibility and access
A team that follows through to get this project made
An Australian/Spanish writer and director, born and raised in Drysdale, Victoria. His debut short Lorne, starring Guy Pearce, premiered at the Palm Springs Film Festival, toured international festivals and received multiple awards. His short Mad Martha (SBS On Demand) has won multiple international awards. He has directed music videos for Masked Wolf and Didirri, collectively reaching tens of millions of views; Skin earned Best Director at ARFF Barcelona, and he was nominated for Best Direction in a music video at the 2023 ADG Awards for Didirri's "Often Broken". His documentary Mother of Chooks has screened at Hot Docs, Doc Edge and the Thomas Edison Festival (Jury Citation Award).
A screenwriter based in Melbourne, Australia. He co-wrote the short film Lorne in 2015, which screened at festivals including Palm Springs International Film Festival, Nashville, Paris and Australia's own Flickerfest. Since then, Taylor has written and directed several short films, earning finalist places in both the 48 Hour Film Festival and the Unscene film competition in 2018 and 2019.
