Review: There Is No ‘I’ In Island (Ten Days on the Island 2021)

There Is No ‘I’ In Island is a collection of short films that describe the experience of Tasmania’s COVID-19 lockdown. It was part of this year’s Ten Days on the Island festival.

When Tasmania suddenly found itself cut off from the rest of the world in March 2020, multi-award-winning filmmakers Rebecca Thomson and Catherine Pettman called out to locals to record their fears, hopes, and dreams in real time.

They were overwhelmed by the response, receiving six hours of candid voice recordings. The filmmakers lovingly wove them into stories that are visualised by a mix of animation and live-action footage. (The animation reminded me of a Monty Python title sequence.)

The first film is quite dark and depressing (“How long will lockdown last?”, “What if life doesn’t return to normal?”), but the last one ends on a more positive and optimistic note (“We’ve basically returned to normal”, “Be kind to your fellow humans”).

The collection (which runs for about thirty minutes) also has a lot of humour and diversity, which makes it even more worthwhile!

There Is No ‘I’ In Island is a very moving experience. It serves as a reminder of what lockdown was like in Tasmania during 2020.

It made me remember what lockdown felt like. I thought at the time that I’d always remember how I felt because I’d never experienced it before, but I quickly forgot after Tasmania basically returned to normal.

“Creating this work really was like putting together an intricate jigsaw puzzle,” Catherine Pettman said.

“It’s been a really beautiful journey putting those pieces together.”

“I wouldn’t change anything,” she explained. “I’d actually like to do it again!”

There Is No ‘I’ In Island premiered at the New Norfolk War Memorial Hall, pictured here.