There Is No ‘I’ In Island

Ms WEBB (Nelson) – Mr President, when COVID-19 descended in early 2020, the state, the country and in fact, the world went into lockdown. Many were at a loss as to how to respond, how to cope, many of us were floundering. At this unique moment two talented
Tasmanian women were spurred into action – creative and artistic action – that resulted in a beautiful and profound series of films that are of, by, and for our local community. Catherine Pettman and Rebecca Thomson knew their response to that time of lockdown – that limbo, that shared uncertainty – must be to capture their experience through their art for posterity. By doing so in a manner so responsive to the exceptional constraints and emotion of that moment, they also provided an opportunity for collective and personal reflection, shared artistic endeavour and a therapeutic release of hopes and fears.

There is no ‘I’ in Island is a film work created by Catherine Pettman of Rummin Productions and Rebecca Thomson, award winning Tasmanian writer, director, and filmmaker. The work was originally commissioned by Ten Days on the Island and received
principal support from Screen Australia, proof of concept funding through Screen Tasmania and a Creative Hobart medium grant to support local artists and animators. The filmmakers also received assistance through the Bellendena small grant scheme and Thrive Women’s grants.

There is no ‘I’ in Island is a collection of short films that distinctively document the experience in the COVID-19 lockdown in lutruwita/Tasmania. Catherine and Rebecca describe how the concepts evolved:

It came about as an amalgam of our shared interest in telling stories for our local community and our love of fairy tales and telling stories using fantasy, metaphor, and symbolism. We liked the idea of exploring the psyche of Tasmania at this extraordinary moment in history in a creatively unique way, and indeed a safe way.

 

Also we envisaged a project that could be realised from start to finish without any of the team of participants needing to be in the same physical space together as we didn’t know at this point how long the pandemic and the lockdown would last. We invited people to self-record answers to specific prompts in their own recording devices (mainly smartphones) and ask them to text or email these audio ‘gifts’ to us. We decided that we would visualise these recordings through animation, working with ideas from Tasmanians

With the audio material provided by a broad range of Tasmanian community members recording their thoughts, feelings and experiences of lockdown on their phones at their own kitchen benches, Catherine and Rebecca then worked with an exemplary team of Tasmanian artists and animators to weave together glorious, allegorical stories and bring them to life on screen through animation and music. The creative team included animation supervisor Vivien Mason; Tasmanian Aboriginal artist Allan Mansell; Tasmanian visual artists Elizabeth Barsham and Joshua Santospirito; animators Matt Daniels, Mel Roach, Jenae Hall, Avon Blazely, Scott Baxter, Paula Hatton, and Mara Gants and original music was composed for the film series Catherine Joy. My deep apologies to anybody from the team I have missed out and there were of course many others around them that also contributed.

During Ten Days on the Island in March 2021, There is no ‘I’ in Island series of films screened in Burnie, Launceston, and New Norfolk as part of the Intimate Ethics Weekend, and then have been numerous other times in Hobart. Beyond our own small island, There is no ‘I’ in Island has achieved global success and recognition, having been selected to feature in a large number of international film festivals and webfests, including in Poland, Sicily, Russia, South Korea, USA, Peru, Cyprus, Canada, Spain, Greece, Italy, Georgia, Brazil and Denmark, to name some.

In these international forays, these beautiful Tasmanian films have received many prizes, including during 2021, winner of Best Original Idea at Digital Media Fest in Rome, Italy; winner of Best Quarantine Series at Rio Webfest, Brazil; winner of Best Animated Series at Baltimore, Next Media Webfest in USA; winner of Best Documentary at Copenhagen Web Fest, Denmark; jury special mention of Best Documentary at the Tbilisi International Animation Film Festival in Georgia; winner of Best Documentary at Bilbao Seriesland, Spain.

Breaking news just this week, There is no ‘I’ in Island was voted the winner of Best Animation for a Web Series at the World Cup 2022 Creators Choice Awards, a unanimous decision by the judges in that case. It fills me with pride to know that people all around the world are watching and loving these whimsical, touching and uniquely Tasmanian films. For anyone who has not yet had
the pleasure and delight, they are available to view online. In fact, their success continues there, with the films currently having in excess of 270,000 views online.

Our state is all the richer for the presence and work of skilled and astonishingly creative people such as Catherine, Rebecca and the team that brought us There is no ‘I’ in Island. I could not agree more with their sentiments about the role and the value of the creative work that they do. They say this:

… storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today. Stories are what move us, make us feel alive, and inspire us.

And also:

Stories have the capacity to make us care deeply about the world and the wicked issues that we face in society. Stories help us understand how to tackle the challenges around us, they inspire us, and remind us we are not alone. … When stories create change in people, they become empowered to make change.

During the challenging times of COVID-19, when the arts have been so profoundly affected, I especially recognise, honour and celebrate the work of the Tasmanian artistic community. There’s no ‘I’ in Island is a shining example of that brilliant work. I commend
and thank Catherine, Rebecca and all those involved in its creation.

More special interest speeches from Meg Webb