A film showing the cremation process is our most viewed film of all time on YouTube and asks do I get the right ashes?
WARNING: This video shows footage that some viewers might find disturbing.
Heart and Soul Funerals, part of Green Fuse Bereavement Care, asked Green Lane Films to make a documentary showing the cremation process. Green Fuse co-founder, Jane Morrell, gave Green Lane Films Director Emma Goude a clear brief – to reassure people that they get the right ashes. Many people, feeling vulnerable in their grief, are worried that a ‘factory’ style funeral could lead to them getting the ashes of someone else’s loved one. It is the most common question Jane gets asked. There is an urban myth that more often than not, people don’t actually get the right ashes.
The funeral process in the UK reflects our cultural fear of death. The coffin disappears behind a curtain, rolling mechanically along. It is clinical and we don’t usually see the burning itself. This video shows what happens behind that curtain. It includes footage of an actual cremation: a coffin being charged into the furnace and the view through the spy glass of a burning body.
The crematorium technicians, even with their dark sense of humour, show great reverence for the responsibility they have been given. ‘Do I Get The Right Ashes’ is Green Lane Films’ most viewed video with over 600K hits on YouTube.