“The islanders didn’t know how to pretend; it was like working with the best actors”
– BERLINALE 2026: The Swiss director breaks down his docufiction, which follows a French former doctor on his trip to one of the most remote islands in the world, Tristan da Cunha
(© hugofilm features)
Swiss director Tobias Nölle presents Tristan Forever [+see also:
film review
interview: Tobias Nölle
film profile] in the Panorama section of this year’s Berlinale. In his calm and intimate docufiction, he follows French former doctor Loran Bonnardot on his trip to one of the most remote islands in the world, Tristan da Cunha, where the latter intends to spend the rest of his life. We spoke to the director about his commitment to the story and the adventure that was making the film.
Cineuropa: How did you get in touch with Loran Bonnardot? How did the project begin?
Tobias Nölle: It came about through the French co-producer of my film Aloys [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Tobias Nölle
film profile], Jean des Forêts, from Petit Film. He told me about Loran and about this island. He was looking for a director and screenwriter. I met Loran, and I felt like embarking on an adventure. I didn’t know the island at all. When I looked it up on Google Maps – just as the film begins – I was really struck by how remote it is. I immediately felt a kind of thrill. It felt like an adventure from another era.
And was it really such an adventure? What was the journey like, and how long were you on the island?
I went there once beforehand to decide whether I truly wanted to make the project. For the shoot itself, we stayed on the island for about three months. The journey there is actually the most adventurous part. If you’re not used to it, it feels like stepping into another era. The island itself is very quiet. On the surface, not much seems to happen.
Did the place grow on you?
It took a while. I was immediately fascinated by the people. They are incredibly friendly and warm-hearted. There’s something different about them – probably shaped by their history and isolation. At the same time, you don’t directly perceive that isolation once you’re there. You see water – it could be any island. At first, I even thought: “This could just as well be a small village in the Swiss mountains.” My real interest grew through Loran’s relationship with Martin – because of their friendship and because I wondered why someone would want to live so far away. The utopia isn’t visibly obvious; it lies in the character of the people. They have preserved something, even though today, they have almost everything we have. The fact that, after being evacuated, they chose to return voluntarily to the “end of the world” is remarkable to me.
Was it difficult to convince the islanders to participate?
No, not at all, thanks to Loran. He’s practically part of the family there and has a special status. The people trust him deeply. That gave us unique access. They are shy, but when you film them doing what they would be doing anyway, they are incredibly natural. They don’t know how to pretend; it was like working with the best actors.
The film includes archive footage of the evacuation to Great Britain after the volcanic eruption. The material feels like a manual for the islanders on how to live in another world. But you were, in a way, in the opposite situation.
It takes a moment to adjust. There’s no mobile-phone network, and the internet only works at night – during the day, it’s used for fishing and essential communication. Being unreachable – not just for a week, but continuously – is unusual but also incredibly liberating. We left shortly after 7 October 2023. It felt calming to step out of our world. In three months, I may have heard the word “Putin” once – otherwise, no politics and no global news. That’s liberating, but at the same time, you’re confronted with yourself much more often.
Were there any logistical challenges during the shoot?
Yes. If something had broken, we would have had to wait three months for the next ship. So, we had to plan everything meticulously, including a backup camera. There were only three of us: Loran, my camera assistant (who also handled sound and the drone) and myself. The hardest part was simply getting seats on the ship. The islanders have priority – for medical reasons or births, when they have to travel to the mainland. In the end, we were lucky.
How did you obtain the archive material?
There was a film from the 1960s about the evacuation, which I watched on my first trip. Later, we hired someone to search for additional material. There wasn’t much, but it was beautiful footage and in very good condition.
You also included videos that Loran shot himself decades ago. How did that decision come about?
The fact that he had this archive was one of the reasons why I agreed to the project. He had filmed himself, which I found fascinating. It allowed me to move into something more fictional, in contrast to the clearly documentary footage from the past. Seeing him as a young man and feeling how long his connection to Tristan has lasted was visually very powerful.
