By Lucy Spicer

One particular word keeps popping up during the post-premiere Q&A of Sukkwan Island: “challenging.” It appears that most aspects of the production process were challenging — the script adaptation, the location scouting, the rigorous shooting schedule, just to name a few. But for writer-director Vladimir de Fontenay, the project was worth the struggle. 

Premiering on January 25 at The Ray Theatre as part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Sukkwan Island is an adaptation of an eponymous short story from David Vann’s book Legend of a Suicide. “I read the book and I loved it, and I couldn’t quite put a finger on why I loved it, but it moved me so much,” says de Fontenay during the post-screening Q&A. “It was just so powerful. At the time, I called my agent and I said, ‘Are the rights to this book available? It’s incredible! Bleak, but incredible.’ And he said, ‘No, no, I think the rights are gone.’” But then a chance encounter with producer Carole Scotta at a film screening in Paris set things in motion. “I met with Carole, and she said, ‘Hey, Vlad, I have the rights to a book, it’s called Sukkwan Island,’” recounts de Fontenay.

The film follows 13-year-old Roy (Woody Norman) as he agrees to join his estranged father, Tom (Swann Arlaud), for a year on the remote Sukkwan Island so that the two can reconnect and hone some survival skills. The father and son face such trials as a malfunctioning radio, injuries from unfamiliar terrain, and the aftermath of a curious bear as they struggle to adapt to their punishing surroundings. But the longer they stay there, the more obvious it is that Tom is unable to reconcile his role in their family’s dissolution, and the man’s inner turmoil begins to manifest itself outwardly and dangerously. 

Vann’s source material takes place in Alaska, but it was decided the film’s setting would change to the Norwegian fjords so that the French film team could have easier access to European producers. Thankfully, the desolate beauty of the Arctic Norwegian landscape served the story’s purpose well. De Fontenay’s team even found the perfect cabin for the job. “We couldn’t build this cabin,” the filmmaker says emphatically. “We had to feel the cold, to be cold, and I think that’s why we insisted on a real cabin near water.”

Harsh weather, an emotionally complex screenplay (“33 drafts,” mentions de Fontenay), and a tight shooting schedule of only 26 days put the director on a search for consummate professionals to portray Roy and Tom. Three-time César Award winner Arlaud is engrossing as the well-meaning but unpredictable Tom, and teenage Norman delivers an impressive performance as Roy, a role that becomes increasingly demanding until the story reaches its shocking climax. 

“To approach all these things, at the end of the day, it’s two human beings, Woody and Swann, going through this and giving it life,” says de Fontenay. “At this point, I don’t exist. It’s their work.”