2016 Films: The Urn

The Urn by Kristopher Lencowski
Los Angeles (MKE Premiere)
Running Time: 10 minutes
Screening Time: Saturday, September 10th 6PM
Comedy/Drama/Asian American/Women/Senior

Cremate the body, find a spot, spread the ashes. Routine. But for Delilah, her Japanese culture demands she honor the ashes by keeping them for 35 days. What to do with your mother’s remains for 35 days? Delilah and her mother were inseparable: best friends and favorite confidantes. So why should that stop after death?
At the film’s outset, you witness Delilah navigate her new life with her dead mother’s ashes: in a beautifully decorative urn. Inseparable, as in life, Delilah and her mother pick up where they left off. They journey through the ups and downs of day-to-day life, with one clear difference: mom is dust in a porcelain container. How can Delilah let go when what remains of her mother is always by her side? 

Through the use of physical comedy and Chaplin-esque storytelling you will become enveloped in Delilah’s new world. Like a rose that is starting to wilt, this movie is sweet with a hint of decay.

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Director Statement:

Most movies show you the dramatic death. Slow motion. Rain splattering. Drama. Most movies will show you the death itself, but I find that a little too intense for my poor heart, like looking directly into the sun. I'm more interested in seeing the shadows that the sun has cast. How do we keep on living the day after someone we love has died? And the day after that? And the day after that?

I also love the Charlie Chaplin-type clown - stupid, incapable, and lovable to the core. It's the juxtaposition of the topic of a parent's death with the treatment in the world of the absurd clown that makes this film soar.

This is a film that is near and dear to our hearts. Not only because it springs from the sadness and absurdity of griefs that we have experienced, but also because it was our first project together as a married couple. Creating a film and sharing it with others is an experience, and since this is our launch from the world of theater to the world of film, it is an even more special one.




Director's Bio:

Kristopher Lencowski is a good Minnesota boy with an offbeat personality and desire to tell great stories. Originally coming from the world of theater, Kristopher graduated with an MFA in Directing from Brown University. Upon moving to Los Angeles, he set out with his wife, Ruth Coughlin, to make films that are funny and accessible, but with a soul. He is thrilled to make The Urn his debut in the film world, which expresses his desire to entertain with unique, clownish, underdog characters that transcend to moments of profundity. Learn more at KristopherLencowski.com