Can you tell us about the “tribe of gods”?

When I arrived in Ireland in 2001, I fell in love with the people there and I never left. Their integrity, the way they relate to their environment … I find it very beautiful. I started the documentary because my friend the King of Tory Island was sick. Fear of losing it or losing something …

What is the place of islands in Irish culture?

Major landowners have no interest in their islanders and the government does not help them much. On Tory Island, as elsewhere, firefighters have no equipment, no running water, and the boat that connects to the mainland is an old wreck. Many islands were abandoned due to this. The balance is very delicate, leaving one or two families and closing the island.

Mainland Irish have no idea about island culture, yet it is the only remnant of Irish culture. Places like Tory Island have three or four more, no more. People continue to sing and dance there. The islands are the last strongholds of the country’s culture. That’s why I make the film, to preserve and archive this story.

Is FIFA involved in the preservation of this culture?

Fifig for me [Festival international du film insulaire de Groix, NDLR] It is one of the best festivals in France. When I was born in 2005, my first documentary was screened there. It has to do with my love for the Irish at first sight, it’s an event that has a lot to do with people. This is a film festival, the most important of which is not movies or music … it’s people!

The islands are generally going through some very difficult times. In Brittany, island life is also disappearing. We hear very little about them, and events dedicated to them are rare. In this sense, Fifig is essential, we need festivals that highlight minorities and forgotten people … because without it, where would we find the last remnants of a culture where these people are disappearing?

Practice

The documentary film “La Tribus des Dieux” will be screened at Des Families this Saturday, August 21 at 2:30 p.m.