Lost Nation // Logline:

Winter is closing in on a woman caretaker in rural New Hampshire, with only a visiting loon for company; but when a strange man appears, is he savior or threat?
And is he even a man?

Synopsis

Phoebe is caretaker for her family’s cabin on a lake in rural New Hampshire. It’s September; the days are getting colder. She spends her days cleaning and swimming, always in a wetsuit, as the water is chilly. The evenings start with a drink on the dock and end with bedtime in a cold, solitary room.

During these evenings, a loon starts to approach, getting bolder as the days go by. It’s kind of weird, but it’s company. Phoebe tries to ‘talk’ to the loon by imitating its call.  

One day, Phoebe has a visit from a special friend. He’s brought a new girlfriend. Their presence makes Phoebe feel even more isolated than before, and when they leave the next day, it’s both painful and a relief. 

Soon after, a man appears on the dock. He explains that he’s a long-distance swimmer just taking a break. Before he swims away, he advises Phoebe to take off her wetsuit. He also calls her by name. 

The next morning, Phoebe is waiting for him. When he arrives, she peels off her wetsuit, takes one last look at the cabin, and dives into the water. They swim off together. As they paddle away they resurface less often, until they vanish under the water.

Director’s Statement:

Lost Nation is a short film that examines the push-pull of being alone: the calm that isolation can provide versus the pleasure/pain of togetherness. The story revolves around the beautiful, sometimes dangerous, magic of the natural world, and explores the fine line between wilderness and civilization.

I wrote Lost Nation to address the loneliness that we all felt during this past year of lockdown, whether we were sequestered with other people or not, and in that way see it as a universal story. I’ve been a professional actor for many years, and the way I’ve learned to shape and tell a story from the inside was instrumental in how I shot this film. I’m also a visual artist, and loved the challenge of combining picture, sound, and performance. My cinematographer is French, and I’m inspired by the idea of their non-American sensibility mixing with my own, which is deeply entrenched in the land of New Hampshire, where we filmed. 

My goal was to create a diverse, supportive shoot environment that resulted in a beautiful and meaningful film for all who watch it. I grew up in the Lakes Region of NH, which is predominantly white and working-class, and then moved to Brooklyn for 21 years. I’m now back near my hometown, thanks to Covid, and see the racial and socioeconomic divides very starkly. I put together a racially and generationally diverse cast and crew that mixes locals and people from elsewhere, and hope that my film can act as some sort of reflection of what I want the world to be.

  • Hannah Cabell

Meet the Team