Sergey Alarsky

The Lost Lily is a surreal short about guilt, faith, and self-deception. It follows a man who believes he is saving his love, while the truth suggests he may be harming her. I was inspired by characters who are morally convinced yet internally fractured, and by films where horror comes from the human psyche rather than external forces.

Coming from 20 years in gamedev as a director and producer, I chose to take on many roles in my debut film to gain practical experience. Beyond writing and directing, I handled producing, organizing the shoot, editing, sound etc. We filmed in three days and completed the project in about three months from idea to final cut. I was lucky to work with a strong cinematographer and committed actors. In the future, I will definitely delegate more and build a stronger production structure, but this experience was both a real challenge and invaluable for me as a filmmaker.

Because I took on so many responsibilities myself, the shoot demanded a great deal of physical and emotional energy. As it was my first film, the lack of experience also created significant stress throughout the process. What helped me overcome this was the support of a few reliable people around me. My eldest son was on set and assisted me, along with several trusted collaborators. I believe the film was completed successfully in no small part thanks to their support and commitment.

I am especially proud of the dense and mysterious atmosphere we were able to create. For me, the film feels like a meditation, a full immersion into someone’s inner world. That quiet, immersive tension is something I value more than any single dramatic moment.

I wanted to tell this story without dialogue, in the spirit of early cinema, to challenge myself to communicate purely through visual language. It turned out to be an extremely difficult task. Looking back, I would probably adjust the presentation to make certain elements clearer and more accessible to the audience, while still preserving the atmosphere and ambiguity.

I believe it is essential to stay honest and not try to please everyone. Cinema is a language through which we share our inner energy. No matter how polished the film is, the audience will always sense the author behind it. Viewers cannot truly be deceived. They feel whether something is sincere or calculated. In the end, everything depends on your inner substance and the depth of what you genuinely want to express.

Initially, the film had no text inserts at all. Based on a feedback I added act titles later, but that still was not enough to connect the narrative clearly. Eventually, I replaced them with internal lines from the protagonist, which I now feel work much better. I also reworked the edit several times based on a team and colleagues feedback, including removing certain moments that I was personally attached to. That was difficult, but necessary. The final version differs significantly from the first cut, and in my opinion, it is stronger precisely because of that feedback.