Lying one hundred miles off the coast of Nova Scotia, Sable Island is a ruggedly beautiful island where horses run wild without predators to fear. Aptly titled Geographies of Solitude, Sable Island is a remote island with wind-swept dunes, sandy beaches, crashing waves, and winds up to 30 miles per hour. Coming to a spit at each end, Sable Island is narrow, running one mile wide by twenty miles long. At night the entire sky is lit with stars.
Director Jacquelyn Mills captures the wild beauty of the island in creative ways: photographing the wild scenery at different times of the day and seasons, using exposed film to turn nature into art, capturing sounds of island life, and converting these to music. Most of all, it is the story of one woman, Zoe Lucas, and her life’s work at this remote location. This documentary addresses topics in biology, ecology, art, music, and the environment.
Zoe Lucas, founder of the Sable Island Institute, is at the heart of the documentary. With video clips of her early work on Sable Island and her current endeavors, Zoe Lucas states she first came to Sable Island in 1971-- young, enthusiastic, and eager to see the wild horses and untamed landscapes. “Enthralled,” she wanted to return. Now 40 years later, she has spent 9,000 days on the island.
Walking the island, Zoe Lucas, a biologist, explains how she has recorded the location, names, births, and deaths of hundreds of horses. Her notebooks contain drawings of their faces and manes; she measures parasite and pregnancy rates and studies manure samples to see what the horses digest. She even collects skulls. She points out the interconnectedness of nature; after a horse dies, vegetation such as grasses, juniper, and yarrow spring up-- giving life to plants, insects, and birds. Zoe Lucas also collects invertebrates such as spiders, beetles, and millipedes and records information on the seals and their pups near the end of the island.
This artistic film captures nature in a unique way. Seaweed photographs and enhances the technique of exposed film in the moonlight, horse hair, bones, and grasses. With a micro-recorder, Zoe Lucas captures the sound of a slowly moving snail, a caterpillar eating its way up a leaf, and a beetle going about its business. The filmmaker converts the sounds to music creating a special experience.
Lastly, as an environmental film, Zoe Lucas wants people to be aware of the number of plastics in the ocean. After examining 300 bird corpses over 22 years, Zoe Lucas determined 72% were filled with plastic. Walking the beach, she picks up balloons and ribbons, cable wire, bottles, and more. Back at her work area, she shows the spreadsheet with details on each plastic: country of origin, label, and whether it is industrial or household plastic. With exceptional photography, director Jacquelyn Mills captures the work of Zoe Lucas and the valuable place of Sable Island in the North Atlantic wonderfully. Highly recommended.
What kind of film series would Geographies of Solitude fit in?
Geographies of Solitude is a documentary focusing on biology, ecology, art, and the environment.
What academic subjects would this film be suitable for?
At the high school or college level, instructors can show portions of Geographies of Solitude, depending on their focus. The first part of the film is appropriate for biology and ecology classes. Photography and art are interspersed throughout the film with the use of backlighting, moonlight, and sunlight. The last third of the film concentrates on plastics and the environment.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
Geographies of Solitude is appropriate for high school and college library collections in biology, ecology, art, and the environment. Public libraries may also be interested in this documentary.