Why Twilight?

Well, here we are. The very first blog.

I want to begin by saying welcome, and thank you for being here. I have wanted to create a space like this for years. A place where stories could be shared honestly, where survival could be spoken of without shame, and where readers might leave with a renewed sense of what is possible, and that healing can take many forms. For a long time, though, the timing never felt right. There was always something that pulled me away from finally sitting down and writing.

So let me properly introduce myself.

My name is Lillian Bellucci, but everyone calls me Lily. I am an Italian-Aboriginal Australian, an Arts graduate with a double major in German and French, and the mother of several cats and two dogs: an Alaskan Malamute named Judah, and a Dalmatian named Grace, the great loves of my life.

Outside of that small, grounding circle, it was the fantasy genre that offered me a healthy escape when my own world felt overwhelming. Like countless others, I fell in love with the world of Twilight, created by Stephenie Meyer. But for me, Twilight was never just a love story. It was a story about belonging, and that is what sung to me.

I spent much of my life feeling as though I did not fit anywhere. Always on the outside, always watching others belong so easily. Then I met the Cullens. They were the outsiders at school, the ones whispered about, the ones who did not blend in. And yet, for them, it worked. Because they had each other. They had a family. Suddenly, not fitting in did not feel like a failure. Rather, it felt like a whispered promise that I had simply not yet found my tribe.

As my love for Twilight deepened, it extended far beyond the books and films. I met other fans online. Cosplayers. Writers. Artists. People from different countries, cultures, and all walks of life. Through Twilight, I found not only a fictional family, but a real one. I found my people and, rather like Bella Swan, finally felt I had found a place where I could shine.

In finding them, something quietly resurfaced. I was reminded of the love for storytelling I had carried since childhood. I grew up in the theatre, and as a child I was constantly creating, recording voices on an old cassette tape, filming small scenes, and dreaming up stories. Though that creative love never truly left, as I grew older the idea of “real” filmmaking felt completely unreachable. I did not work in the industry. I had no connections. I told myself it was impossible. So I set it aside and moved on. Still, the desire never left.

And then, Carmen walked into my life.

In 2019, at the Forever Twilight in Forks festival, I dressed as Carmen of the Denali Coven for fun, and something shifted. It was playtime again. Only a few close friends were aware of who I was actually dressed as, but it didn’t matter. There was freedom in play, and in the permission to step into the personality of another. In that freedom, I found myself returning to the work. I began an in-character Instagram and started making small films to tell Carmen’s story, using nothing more than an iPhone and borrowed locations. They were simple, but they mattered. Through Carmen, I found my way back to the girl who loved storytelling.

Life, however, threw me a wicked curveball. And not the fun kind.

In the midst of prolonged loss, illness, violence, and survival, I disappeared from the world’s eye. My social media accounts were deleted, and I withdrew completely, focused on surviving. When I eventually returned to the Twilight community, I was an entirely changed woman, deeply traumatised and acutely aware of how fragile life truly is. And yet, it was this very awareness that made one truth impossible to ignore:

Creation was no longer optional for me.
It was necessary.

And so, I chose to try.
I founded The Haus of Luce. I wrote the scripts. I began building a team. I committed myself to telling this story with care, respect, and reverence for the world that had given me so much. And today, because of Twilight, I am proud to call myself a screenwriter, a director, and an actor, stepping into the role of a character I have loved since I first met her on the page: Esme Cullen.

So, why Twilight?

Because Twilight gave me a sense of belonging when I had none. It gave me a family before I ever believed I deserved one. And with this film, it is my hope that you feel that spark again. The wonder. The love. The feeling of coming home.

This story is my love letter to Stephenie Meyer.
It is for the Twilight community I love so much.
But most of all, it is for anyone who has ever felt out of place in their own world, just as I have.

There is a place for you here, where the extraordinary feels familiar, years fall away, and true love stretches beyond the limits of time.
Welcome home.
Lily x