WHERE DO WE GO?
DIRECTED BY BARBARA LERVIG
UNITED KINGDOM, FAROE ISLANDS // 2021
15 MINS
A woman consumed by grief ventures into the mountains with no intention of returning, but an encounter with an enigmatic old postwoman sets her life on a new path.
Reflective Encounters
“On the anniversary of her young son’s death, Emma takes herself to the edge of a mountain. She has no intention of ever coming home or returning the calls of her distraught family and friends. Shot on the breathtaking Faroe Islands, Where Do We Go? explores what it means to keep living when entrenched in grief. The film is brilliantly photographed, the endlessness of the Faroese mountains a clear reflection of Emma’s sense of loss and aimlessness. Director Barbara Lervig makes good use of her location, placing her characters as solitary figures in a wide frame, almost swallowed by the landscape.
The eventual direction of the film’s plot brings to mind **that old favourite, It’s a Wonderful Life. An otherworldly presence helping someone on the edge to embrace life again is a trope that has been keenly repeated in all media. Perhaps we return so often to this archetype for its familiarity - a certain kind of comfort when we’re feeling lost and desolate.
Where Do We Go? has a good heart - it offers hope, and honours the strength it takes to keep on living after a tragedy. It also raises a question about how we tell stories of people choosing to live again. These themes are universal - is it time to be more innovative in how we explore them?”
— Malaika Kegode
Filmmaker Q&A
A Q&A with filmmakers from The Familiar is Metaphysical programme at Encounters Film Festival 2021.
Filmmakers - Zhiyi Wang (Some manifestations of the South), Rubén González (Once Familiar) and Barbara Lervig (Where Do We Go?)
Hosted by Ren Scateni, Encounters Head of Programme.
Filmmaker Bio
Barbara is a Faroese director and cinematographer, and alumni of the Northern Film School in Leeds, UK. Growing up on the scenic Faroe Islands, surrounded by breaking waves, tall mountains and all manners of natural beauty, Barbara was compelled to start capturing it.
What began as an interest in photography fast shifted into the field of cinematography, where she found her feet in filmmaking, naturally leading her to this scripted short directorial debut. Barbara’s work spans across many different genres including, music videos, dance videos, live music sessions, short scripted films and short documentary.