TANGIER ISLAND, VA— It was a night at the cinema on Tangier Island for the first time in more than 60 years since the Island's only movie theater closed, but this time the film is about their way of life.
"Been Here Stay Here" follows three generations of native islanders, highlighting the Tangier way of life against the backdrop of the island's environmental challenges. Since 1850, around two-thirds of the island's land has been lost.
Brooklyn-based filmmaker David Usui first heard of Tangier Island in 2017. He spent the next seven years immersed in the culture and finding the narrative arc of "Been Here Stay Here."
"I've traveled a lot in my life and I've never been to a place like that," Usui said.
The documentary premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam in November 2024. It has since been shown at numerous domestic film festivals.
On May 10, two free screenings at the Tangier recreational center allowed the Tangier Island community to see the film, most for the first time.
"Just never thought I'd see a story about Tangier in a movie theater like that," Mayor James “Ooker” Eskridge said.
Eskridge is a working waterman and one of the three subjects featured in "Been Here Stay Here." Another is Cameron Evans, who was in college for most of the filming and has since returned to Tangier.
"For the people here that haven't been able to see a movie in years," Evans said. "That's not on the agenda when they go off the island, just to go see a movie."
Tangier's aging population is dwindling, with fewer than 400 residents. Usui said that while this may have been one of his smaller audiences, it is also the most meaningful.
"I'm hoping that we screen this movie hundreds of times over the next few years," Usui said. "This one, to me, is the most important."
A fundraiser is live to raise $10,000 for the costs of the one-night pop-up theater, including ferrying a 20-foot screen, professional sound equipment, and theater-grade projection from Onanock, VA. Organizers tell WBOC they were halfway to their goal before the screenings.
Usui said the film aims not only to document a way of life but also to draw attention to the island’s urgent needs, which transcend an often polarizing topic.
"They're making pleas for support and have been for decades and oftenime it feels like it's fallen on deaf ears," Usui said. "Hopefully, this feels like a wave of support that we can leverage it and then they can feel that."
A hope for the film, Evans said, he shares.
"More funding, you know, more land restoration efforts and jetty systems to follow," Evans said. "We've got so much nature and wildlife here, along with the people, that we feel like it's worth saving.
For different donation options, you can visit: www.donorbox.org/tangierscreening