SAPELO / SWITZERLAND / LOUISIANA PREMIERE

On the barrier island of Sapelo, two brothers, JerMarkest and Johnathan, are growing up in the last remaining enclave of the Saltwater Geechee people. Their greatest joy is exploring the island like their adoptive mother, Cornelia Walker Bailey, did as a child. As Sapelo’s storyteller and elder matriarch, she works to preserve what remains of this unique community established by her ancestors. Reflecting on the complicated splendor of her youth, Cornelia strives to shepherd her young sons through theirs. At the dawn of adolescence, the brothers inherit her hope, but begin to clash with each other and the wider world.

Director Biography

Nick Brandestini (Director, camera, editor) is an independent filmmaker based in Zurich, Switzerland. His latest documentary "Children of the Arctic", was awarded Best Documentary at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and the Golden Eye Jury Award at the Zurich Film Festival, among other international accolades, before airing on PBS World Channel in 2016. His previous film, "Darwin", was awarded Best Documentary at the Austin Film Festival, and screened theatrically in New York and Los Angeles, garnering flattering reviews in the New York Times, Variety, and the Los Angeles Times (“A beautiful, elegiac work with unexpected impact and meaning”). "Darwin" aired on PBS/KQED in 2015 and was nominated for a regional Emmy Award.