One of the early essential documentaries of the year takes us to a remote island in the Northwest Atlantic––so remote, in fact, there is only a sole occupant. Jacquelyn Mills’ Geographies of Solitude, which premiered at Berlinale and will begin its theatrical run starting at Anthology Film Archives on January 25, follows Zoe Lucas, a naturalist and environmentalist who has lived on Sable Island for over 40 years collecting, cleaning, and documenting marine litter that persistently washes up on the island’s shores. Ahead of Cinema Guild’s release, we’re pleased to share the exclusive trailer for the gorgeous documentary, which was shot on 16mm.
Jared Mobrarak said in his review, “Considering the Wikipedia page for Sable Island states a population of zero (minus the six-to-twenty-five rotating personnel team from the Meteorological Service of Canada), the text labeling Zoe Lucas as a “full-time inhabitant” at the end of Jacquelyn Mills’ Geographies of Solitude seems to confirm what we presume throughout its duration: this twenty-five-mile-long and one-mile-wide crescent sand dune off the coast of Nova Scotia is a world of one. It’s been that way for forty years, ever since Lucas returned following a brief stint in the 70s as a volunteer cook/burgeoning environmentalist. That time has seen her compiling detailed spreadsheets on topics like the famed Sable Horse population, invertebrate species, seal/bird migrations, and plastic waste. As Lucas says, you can’t solve a problem without first collecting the data.”
See the exclusive trailer below.
Geographies of Solitude opens on January 25 at NYC’s Anthology Film Archives and will expand.