Heimaey (Home Island)
Sonia Ladidà Schiavone | 2019 | Italy | 30
There is a little island, close to the Southern coast of Iceland: its name is Heimaey. On this land, life has beauty and misery, charm and contradictions: that’s what this story wants to reveal. The project is divided in 2 parts. The first one depicts Heimaey from the outside: its landscapes, streets, houses. Slowly, the project gets to the second part, where the human presence is the protagonist: Heimaey is approached from the inside, depicting some of its inhabitants and their peculiarities.
UK Premiere
Producer: Sonia Ladidà Schiavone
Writer: Sonia Ladidà Schiavone
Cinematographer: Rosario Cammarota
Sound Recordist: Sonia G. Esposito
Editor: Nadia Islöda
Director Biography
Sonia Ladidà Schiavone was born and raised in Italy. She graduated in Photography & Film Studies at the Academy of Fine Arts of Naples. Because of her interest in the Nordic Film Industry, she moved to Iceland, studying film production at the Icelandic Film School. She also collaborated on Icelandic Film Productions such as “A White, White Day by Hlynur Palmason.
Sonia moves between Iceland, Denmark and Italy, developing personal short films as director. Her most recent project was selected for the European Workshop Nisi Masa 2020. She is currently based in Copenhagen, collaborating on documentaries for the Oscar-nominated company “Final Cut for Real”. She is also assisting the CPH:DOX Industry Dept. for the 2021 edition of the festival.
“Round 0” is her last short film. Based in Iceland and made in collaboration with the Icelandic Film School. The project had European premiere at Tromsø Intl Film Festival (Norway) and American premiere at Hamptons Intl Film Festival (NY).
Director Statement
As an island of an island, Heimaey reveals the peculiarities of a land surrounded by the sea, in a very personal way. Its particular location and geographical conditions deeply influence the daily life of the approximately 4500 inhabitants who persist in living on the island. Many of them, in fact, returned there despite the violent eruption of the Eldfell volcano, that, in 1973, covered houses and streets with magma and ashes, and forced the evacuation of the whole island. Heimaey was shot during different times of the year in order to capture the everyday life of the island and the islanders. This short documentary has no interest in telling the story of the island: the intent is to create a portrait of a place with a strong personality that deserves to be depicted in the purest way.
