LOST LIVES
LOST LIVES
The Film

LOST LIVES

Directors’ Statement

“Lost Lives is a feature length film inspired by the remarkable book of the same name. First published in 1999, it is a history book with a profound difference. It does not detail the acts of politicians and other major figures in the story of a conflict. Nor does it concern itself with talks or the breakdowns of talks. It was – and remains – the only book to record the circumstances of every single death in a conflict. As such it is focused - through every meticulous entry - on the human and emotional cost of a war. In the words of the five journalists who wrote the book over a period of seven years, it "should serve as a lasting reminder of why Northern Ireland should never again return to full-scale conflict, a lasting reminder of the sadness and the pity of it all, a lasting reminder that war is hell.”

 

“Our film is not a documentary but a filmic response to the book and what it represents. It is a film that weaves together high end cinematography, archive film, a commissioned score performed by the Ulster Orchestra and a number of extracts from the book, read by the very best of our acting talent. For us it is a cinematic event that addresses the past - but looks to the future.

“Lost Lives is being released in the autumn  / fall of 2019 to mark the 50th anniversary of the start of the violence in Northern Ireland – a remarkable moment for all of us, not least those of us who lived through the conflict.”

 

- Dermot Lavery and Michael Hewitt, co-directors of Lost Lives

L-R Dermot Lavery and Michael Hewitt

L-R Dermot Lavery and Michael Hewitt

 
L-R Brian Feeney, David McVea, David McKittrick, Chris Thornton and Seamus Kelters

L-R Brian Feeney, David McVea, David McKittrick, Chris Thornton and Seamus Kelters

About the directors

Dermot Lavery and Michael Hewitt are award-winning film makers based in Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Having worked together at their production company DoubleBand Films since the late 1980s, they have a long track record in producing and directing documentaries and feature documentaries. Their credits include:

ROAD – an award-winning feature documentary produced for the BBC and Northern Ireland Screen and narrated by Liam Neeson (2014)

PRISON – FROM THE INSIDE – a two-part documentary film produced for the BBC (2017)

THE MAN WHO SHOT THE GREAT WAR – a feature documentary produced for the BBC and Northern Ireland Screen (2014)

FROM BELFAST TO DACHAU – an award-winning documentary produced for the BBC (2005)

ESCOBAR’S OWN GOAL – an award-winning documentary produced for Channel 4 (1997)

DOWN THE STREET OF DREAMS – a feature documentary produced for the BBC (1996)

Lavery and Hewitt are currently working on a major feature length documentary on the poet Seamus Heaney, for the BBC and Northern Ireland Screen.

 

About the authors

Lost Lives is the story of the Northern Ireland troubles told as never before; it is not concerned with the political bickering but with the lives of those who have suffered and the deaths which have resulted from more than three decades of conflict.

As a reference book, Lost Lives is indispensable; as a landscape of history painted in fine detail, it is unique. For anyone interested in Northern Ireland - or in the human cost of conflict anywhere - this is destined to be the defining work.

“This work is dedicated to our children,

that they might learn from the lessons of the past”

- Authors of Lost Lives