About this submission

“Si la isla quiere”—a local saying meaning “Island willing,” rather than “God willing”—is an ensemble portrait of Chile’s Robinson Crusoe Island, whose biodiversity rivals the Galápagos’. Though never home to an indigenous population, the community, descended from sailors like the eponymous Robinson Crusoe, shapes life around the Island’s volatile rhythms. When Chile declared the Island a National Park, violent farming bans displaced families and invasive species were introduced. Reckoning with the ensuing biodiversity crisis and over-dependence on the mainland, islanders fight for ecological and cultural survival, with the Island emerging as a striking setting and protagonist.

Cece

Creator

Cece's filmmaking journey started when she borrowed an old DSLR on Chile's Robinson Crusoe Island, a place more biodiverse than the Galápagos, where the sailor washed ashore. This culminated in SI LA ISLA QUIERE (ISLAND WILLING) – a 30-minute documentary executive produced by Academy–Award Nominated Producers Tom Yellin and Regina K. Scully. Currently in the festival circuit, it won the Audience Award at Hamptons International Film Festival, with Sentimental Value, before being named one of Hammer to Nail's "9 Most Anticipated Films at DOC NYC." She's developing her first feature, supported by the Woodstock Film Festival Filmmaker Residency. She recently collaborated with Gurinder Chadha on a hybrid portion of her new film and regularly works with Debi Wisch and Wischful Thinking Productions. More comfortable in the air or underwater, she is an avid surfer, diver and aerialist, having founded DAARTS aerial arts. She graduated from Dartmouth Geography and Middle Eastern Studies degree.