Geographies of Solitude

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.

I grew up in Nova Scotia and Sable Island is really well known here. When I was really young, I remember seeing a news report about this woman—Zoe Lucas—who lives on this mythical island and has dedicated her life to studying and researching the flora and fauna there. I remember as a young girl being totally captivated by that story; it awoke something in me and stayed with me. It was the legend that attracted me to her story but it was everything else—the details, the hidden parts of that place—that really ignited this project and made it what it is.

Director Jacquelyn Mills