The Island in me, directed and co-produced by Gemma Cubero Del Barrio, tells the story of three women marked by Pukapuka. Amélia lived her first years there, Johnny Frisbie, daughter of the writer Robert Dean Frisbie, grew up there, and the director herself tries to understand what this place in the middle of the Pacific means.

«Amelia left me for an island. I didn't know that Pukapuka existed. I didn't imagine that this atoll in the middle of the Pacific would change my life.» These are the first words of this documentary, The Island in me, Directed and co-produced by Gemma Cubero Del Barrio, it tells a very personal and intimate moment in her life. Pukapuka, an atoll in the Cook Islands, located in the northwest of Rarotonga, has remained deeply embedded in the memories of Amélia, the woman who shares Gemma’s life. But she no longer quite knows whether those early years, before she was 5, were a dream or whether this island really exists… Until she finds an old book: Mlle Ulysse from Pukapuka, by Johnny Frisbie. This time, it is Amélia who is heard: «After reading this book, I had to go back to it. It’s the place of my childhood. It wasn’t a decision, nor a choice, it was an invitation.» Upon learning that Johnny Frisbie was still alive, the director contacted her and offered to return to Pukapuka. A kind of pilgrimage will then be organized: Amélia who wants to revisit the places of her childhood and be certain that all of this really existed; Johnny Frisbie who wants to find the traces of his adolescence and revisit the old times; and Gemma who wants to understand and get acquainted with this mysterious place that has left such a strong imprint on these two women.

« All the films I have made are personal, but this one is the most intimate..
My motivation was to tell the story of Amélia and Johnny. I am originally from Spain and I never thought that one day I would make a film about Pukapuka,» the director confided during Wednesday afternoon’s Inside the doc. «When I went to Pukapuka, I realized that this island was also a character in the film.”. I was truly transformed by this island. In the documentary, we see the old footage: photos of Amélia as a baby with her parents on the island, sounds in which Amélia’s mother assures that they need nothing, that Amélia needs nothing. Amélia’s memories come back:» Pukapuka is very visceral »She listened to the sound of the waves crashing on the reef,« she said. »Everyday life was very intense. I remember that freedom, I went wherever I wanted.« Film excerpts show Johnny Frisbie, a great dancer, who was often on stage in Hawaii with her sisters. Then the women arrive on Pukapuka: the reunions are strong, intense, we remember them, we celebrate them. Johnny reunites with his brother. »It's good to be back, I feel like I'm going to explode," Johnny Frisbie said.

The images flow in: the parents who are absent, Johnny’s brother who was adopted by an aunt and will never grow up with the rest of the family, the loss of a baby that precipitates the parents« departure from Amelia, an education that is less strict and more free, and then the cultural shock of arriving in Hawaii… Pukapuka leaves an indelible imprint of a distant time, like a parenthesis in the present world. A resident of the island shows Amelia around her house: toilets, a shower, »may the Lord be praised!« laughs the hostess. Life is definitely not the same in Pukapuka where the simplest amenities bring great happiness. Where everyone gathers to celebrate the arrival of the three women. They sing, they laugh, they clap their hands. The day goes by slowly. When they have to leave again, the protagonists and the director climb into the boat: »I’m glad I came.« »I wonder why I left," said Johnny Frisbie. "I can go elsewhere; I will always have Pukapuka deep in me," assures Amélia. As for the director herself, she now has a deep imprint left by Pukapuka in her heart.

 

Article written by Lucie Rabreaud

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