British Council Logo UK Films Database
Project Detail

ISLAND

Synopsis

Across the water on the island, four individuals experience the end of life. Showing rarely seen and intensely private events, the film follows the progression of illness for each character and, for one, the last days and hours of life, the moment of death, and after death care. A lyrical, slow cinema description of the temporality and phenomena of dying, this film sensitively witnesses the transition away from personhood.
This is a palliative island, the Isle of Wight, an enigmatic landscape where all around rituals persist. Parallel to bedside vigils and the rhythm of breathing, we see rescue owls on the hospice ward, the rugged coastline, and the constant ferry arrivals. A choir rehearses Brahm’s 'German Requiem'. In the hospital pathology lab, microscopic close-ups of cancer show the interior of the bodies, our biology, our creatureliness. Death is presented as natural and everyday but also unspeakable and strange.
Official Selection Rotterdam International Film Festival 2018 - International premiere
Visit Film Website

Details

Year
2017
Type of project
Features
Running time
90 mins
Format
HD 4k
Director
Steven Eastwood
Producer
Steven Eastwood, Elhum Shakerifar
Editor
Steven Eastwood, with Sergio Vega
Director of Photography
Steven Eastwood
Funded by
Arts Council England and Big Lottery

Genre

Experimental

Categories

Documentary

Production Status

Complete

Production Company

Paradogs Films

Steven Eastwood

Hakawati

Elhum Shakerifar

Page updates

This page was last updated on 12th May 2025. Please let us know if we need to make any amendments or request edit access by clicking below.

Suggest amendments

See also

You may also be interested in other relevant projects in the database.

Of Camera Of Camera

Director: Steven Eastwood

Year: 2004

Of Camera explores the abortive attempts of two people to be together in the same space. Their disagreement is fuelled by technical difference: the woman exists on videotape and the man on celluloid. The story corrupts as the two realise they are incompatible and that they are being filmed and watched.

Drama
Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean Maverick: The Epic Adventures of David Lean

Director: Barnaby Thompson

Year: 2026

An in-depth study of David Lean, the man and his films. David Lean was one of the greatest filmmakers. He redefined what films could be, but his singular vision and tenacious determination to film the impossible earned him a reputation as an obsessive maverick. He was a master of his craft, capable of creating love and beauty on screen, but whose personal life was often troubled, uprooted, and painful. Featuring interviews with contemporary filmmakers including Wes Anderson, Paul Greengrass, Alfonso Cuarón, Celine Song, Brady Corbet, Francis Ford Coppola, Denis Villeneuve, Nia DaCosta, and Joe Wright. Official Selection Cannes Film Festival 2026 - Cannes Classics - World premiere

Biography
TCB - The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing TCB - The Toni Cade Bambara School of Organizing

Director: Monica Henriquez, Louis J. Massiah

Year: 2025

Structured as a series of classes in cultural organising, this film reconstructs the life of a woman whose literary works and film collaborations became a catalysing force in 20th century political movements. Toni Morrison, Nikky Finney and filmmaker Haile Gerima are among those who testify to Bambara's humour, fierce commitment to collective action and gift for galvanising artists into community work. Official Selection DOC NYC 2025 - World premiere Official SelectionTrue/False Film Festival 2026 Official Selection Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival 2026 Official Selection Sheffield DocFest 2026 - European premiere

Biography Black Woman Director