'Lost in the Bewilderness'

Film director and producer Alexandra Anthony's Lost in the Bewilderness has drawn raves wherever it's been shown. The official selection of at least 10 film festivals, the 97-minute documentary relates the story of the parental kidnapping in Greece of Anthony's cousin Lucas, age 5, who more than 10 years later is found in the United States. 

Anthony began making her documentary (she is the film's sole writer, editor, cinematographer, sound recorder, and narrator) in 1984; she completed it over 25 years. During that time, she filmed her cousin's re-introduction to his Greek family and culture.

The film is the second in a nonfiction trilogy; the first is Yaya (1984), and the third, Three Pomegranate Seeds, is soon to be in post-production. Each of the films uses intergenerational stories to explore family relationships, childhood, and adulthood, and the joys, tragedies, and sorrows that attend loss and discovery.

The trailer, below, gives an idea of the film's lyricism and beauty, and of Anthony's sensitive treatment of her subject.

Anthony's first documentary was Morning Born Blindly (1977).

The next screening of Lost in the Bewilderness is November 5 at Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts. A discussion with Anthony follows the screening.

Lost in the Bewilderness on FaceBook