Tristan Forever

A burnt-out Parisian doctor travels to an ultra-remote, penguin-populated South Atlantic isle in search of isolation, salvation and perhaps even love.

Tristan da Cunha is the most remote place of human habitation in the world. A volcanic speck in the South Atlantic, midway between Argentina and South Africa, it’s visited by only six to eight boats per year, its 230-odd inhabitants vastly outnumbered by penguins. Loran Bonnardot, a jaded Parisian physician with a lifetime serving in Médecins Sans Frontières, has spent 30 years visiting Tristan; now, he’s hoping to permanently relocate there to escape the hectic nature of 21st-century living. As Bonnardot explores the island’s wilderness and tries to integrate into its community, he awaits approval for permanent residency.

Swiss filmmaker Tobias Nölle has found acclaim for his experimental, eerie narrative features, from 2016 Berlinale stand-out Aloys to 2024 sci-fi parable Preparations for a Miracle. Here, directing in collaboration with Bonnardot, Nölle mounts a dreamlike, meditative film that blurs lines between ethnography, documentary and fantasy. With cinematography that evocatively brings Tristan da Cunha’s landscape to life, this is a quiet, contemplative study in both the pleasures and the perils of isolation – the perfect film for anyone with a love of exploration or a desire to escape.

Content: Melbourne International Film Festival