Gander Islands

Gander Islands is a window on two insular locations in Newfoundland: the international terminal of the Gander airport and the Fogo Island Arts artists’ studios. A refuelling stopover for intercontinental flights until the 1960s, the international terminal is almost deserted today. Only the American armed forces and a few dignitaries flying on private airplanes pass through it on occasion. In the wintery setting of a nearby island, the camera alternates between the silent, empty, geometrical rooms of the Fogo Island Arts studios and views of the windswept landscape. Here, the only sign of life is a small boy improvising martial arts moves. From time to time, a child appears in the shots of the terminal and of the island, becoming a strange point of connection between the interior and exterior spaces. This mental projection unites the two isolated locations.