Cacoethes | Nicole Ferguson

When an ambitious but tempered Prince gets sent away, he must train with their royal aide in order to prove to his parents that he’s worthy of inheriting the throne.

“Cacoethes” (an irresistible urge to do something inadvisable), follows the origin stories of Damium Lowardson, the antagonist in my feature film Port 20. In a slightly enigmatic way, we dive into the psyche of the young Prince and aim to decipher what brings him to make the decisions that he does. A little insight to his character development into who he becomes in Port 20. 

Around the time I first wrote Port 20, as a novel at 15, a lot of people were drawn to the villain and as a true crime enthusiast, I find that people are usually more curious towards the ‘enemy’. We question what drives them to commit the crimes they do, their motive but we also can’t help but wonder the how. How did they become as crazy as they are? 

When I was around 13, I got the opportunity to attend a book festival in Bali, where I met the author of We Need to Talk About Kevin, Lionel Shriver. Intrigued by Kevin’s character, I asked, “What were thinking about when creating him?”. She swiftly answered, “How more messed up can he get?”. It was this mindset that influenced my creation of Damium and his backstory.

Origin stories can give characters more depth and allow us to better understand them in the universe that they are in. It gives us the opportunity to see them in a way that no one in their world does.

Nicole A. Ferguson is an Indonesian-Canadian Screenwriter and Director who primarily focuses on Feature Films and Episodic Television. In her work, she aims to challenge the toxic stereotypes that have been perpetuated over the years, especially in regards to sexuality, feminism, ethnicities and more. After writing her first feature film at 20, she currently is working on two original TV shows for production.