The Lost Children

Both screenings are currently Standby Only. A standby line will form at the box office one hour prior to showtime. Tickets may be release to the line on a first come, first serve basis.

The Lost Children is the StoryWorld built around the secretive Lost Children cult who believe they are aliens from another world and that their mothership is approaching Earth, hidden within the Tioga Comet. In this live immersive event, you will move between a cult recruitment session where you may be targeted for advanced psychic testing, and an interactive science lecture regarding the nature of comets, and the real possibilities for alien life in the universe. Finally, you will be invited to take part in an interactive screening of The Lost Children feature film. Stay for the creators’ chat after, take a peek behind the curtain and share your experiences with the event.

Blurring the line between reality and fiction, The Lost Children experience consists of three parts:

Part one: Live Immersive Event. This is a participatory cult recruitment event featuring The Hierarchy of The Lost Children religious group. You begin by entering what you think is a URLIFE motivational seminar (http://www.chancesturges.com). URLIFE members talk about how the program changed their lives, and lead you in creative visualization exercises and meditations. But this seminar is not all that it seems. Soon, you will may be taken aside for “advanced psychic testing”, designed to draw out your own total latent powers. You will witness things you cannot explain. You will question the evidence of your own senses. You will be drawn deeper into the mysteries of the Lost Children and possibly even granted a glimpse of their most sacred rituals.

You will also be free to explore the story world from another angle. With guidance from an astronomer, you will learn about the real science behind comets, asteroids, and the possibilities of alien life in the universe. A mix of short presentation and Q&A, you will collaborate to unlock the mysteries scientists have access to every day. What are exoplanets? What might real extraterrestrials look like? What are the real chances that some alien race has visited our world? Will the Earth be destroyed by a comet or asteroid?

For this first portion of the evening, you will freely pass between these two live experiences.

Part two: The Film. You will be summoned into the theater, where you will watch a screening of The Lost Children feature film. The film tells the story of Evelyn Hamilton, party girl turned would-be messiah, and reveals the darkest, most hidden secrets of the cult. The film uses found footage and documentary techniques to follow Evelyn’s journey from The Lost Children, to the hands of obsessed cult deprogrammer Jared Allen Tyler, and on to her final destiny to face the mysterious Shadowmen and their dark Gods, The Almighty K’Taan.

Taking advantage of the unique properties of the Elinor Bunin Munroe FIlm Center, the film itself will be subject to the Faith vs. Reason debate. The film itself will respond to audience reaction in real time, revealing or withholding elements based on the audience’s belief or skepticism. This will be a unique collaboration between filmmaker and crowd

Part three: Discussion. Stay for the creators’ talk afterward and discuss what you’ve learned about the nature of cults, the paranormal, the universe, and maybe even yourself.

Thanks to the Institute for Art and Olfaction for their collaboration on this event. The IAO aims to instigate greater engagement with the art and science of scent. This is achieved through a public education program, by building an archive of contemporary perfume releases, by creating an accessible laboratory for scent innovation, and by inciting cross-genre collaboration between perfumers and other creative practitioners.