Don’t Buy the Box
This will be both a social media project and possible short documentary film on alternatives to expensive, impersonal, and environmentally unfriendly urns and caskets. It will start with me sharing the story of the DIY urn that I created for my maman’s ashes.
Director’s Statement
My papa’s cremation was handled by a traditional funeral home. We were taken to a room that displayed a selection of urns to choose from. At the time I assumed that those were the only options available to us. So we picked one that was somewhat in line with his personality, but not really expressive of who he was or what he valued. The most modest urn offered still added another couple hundred dollars to the bill.
By the time my mother passed away I was more aware that we didn’t have to select from what the funeral home offered for her ashes. So much to the representative’s chagrin I insisted on the simplest option - a cardboard box (which still cost us $40) that I decorated by myself.
