No Island Like Home
2019 - Co-Director, Editor
Directors: Giulio Gobbetti, Jan Stöckel
Cinematographer: Jan Stöckel
Editor: Giulio Gobbetti
Runtime: 45’00”
Project Status: completed
Festival Selection: Sheffield Doc/Player 2019, Visions du Réel 2019 Media Library, DOCfeed 2020, Trinidad+Tobago Film Festival 2020, Rincón International Film Festival 2020, Arctic Film Festival 2020 (Winner), Vizantrop Festival 2020 and Sjón International Anthropological Festival.
Synopsis.
After a devastating volcanic eruption in 1995, the beautiful Caribbean island of Montserrat experienced a mass exodus. But many refused to leave, despite the social and economic destruction the volcano caused. Can a community torn apart by the force of nature ever truly recover?
More than two decades ago, the volcano in Montserrat exploded with catastrophic consequences. Although many years have since passed, Celeste vividly remembers the eruption. She lost her life’s work: the shop she owned on the island’s capital. Today, where her shop once stood, lays an ash-coated ghost town. However, much like the regrowth of vegetation across the land, the community has a new-found vitality. Youngsters race cars on abandoned streets, taking back what the volcano stole from them. Mappie, a gardener, hikes with us through the thick rainforest: “The volcano does a range of good and bad” he says. “People thought Montserratians would have left. But I’m staying.” Yet, the volcano, under observation by scientists, lurks menacingly in the background. As everyday life unfolds, the most awaited day of the year arrives – St Patrick’s day. It is a litmus test: will people fill the streets, resilient? Or will the streets remain empty, signalling a community broken beyond repair?
