Experience the textures and sounds of Sable Island in Geographies of Solitude. This poetic film by Jacquelyn Mills (In the Waves) observes the work of researcher Zoe Lucas, who has spent four decades studying the unique ecosystem of this 31 square kilometre island south of Halifax. Geographies of Solitude incorporates Lucas’s philosophy of learning from the island into its design. Mills embeds elements of the island into the development of her 16mm film frames, such as horse droppings and seaweed, among other nature ingredients, spliced into the image. Snails and worms, meanwhile, add their voices to the soundtrack.
Geographies of Solitude enjoys a Toronto encore at Planet in Focus Environmental Film Festival on Sunday, Oct. 16 at the Paradise Theatre, and POV is pleased to co-presented the screening. Read more about Geographies of Solitude in Marc Glassman’s review and in Megan Durnford’s interview with Mills from Hot Docs where the film won both Best Canadian Feature and the emerging Canadian filmmaker prize. See below for your chance to win tickets!
Synopsis: Geographies of Solitude is an immersion into the rich ecosystem of Sable Island, guided by naturalist and environmentalist Zoe Lucas who has lived over 40 years on this remote sliver of land in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Shot on 16mm and created using a scope of innovative eco-friendly filmmaking techniques, this feature-length experimental documentary is a playful and reverent collaboration with the natural world. Zoe leads us among wild horses, seals and bugs, through peaks, valleys, roots, sands, weathers, seasons and stars. The intangible is evoked with hidden sounds and vanishing light. Much like a field book, the film tracks its protagonist’s labor to collect, clean and document marine litter that persistently washes up on the island shores.
Thanks to Planet in Focus, POV has a pair of tickets to give away to the screening of Geographies of Solitude on Oct. 16. All you have to do to enter is answer the following question:
What animal population is known to roam Sable Island?
a) Feral cats
b) Horses
c) Chipmunks
d) Penguins
Send your answer to info@povmagazine.com with the subject “PIF – Geographies of Solitude.” Bonus entries go to anyone who shares the contest publicly on Twitter and Facebook.
Geographies of Solitude screens at Planet in Focus on Sunday, Oct. 16 at the Paradise Theatre at 7:00pm.
Planet in Focus runs Oct. 13 to 23.
