Quietly paced documentary “Been Here Stay Here” takes its time in the slow, unhurried rhythm of Tangier Island itself. It’s hard not to notice that this is very much a faith-based film, and director David Usui seems to gleefully play to his intended audience. The evangelical Christian beliefs of the town’s residents are central to the story, guiding every choice and framing their responses to the island’s precarious situation. If you’re religious (particularly Christian), you’ll probably connect with the way faith shapes their lives. If you’re not, the preaching can feel quite heavy.
Through intimate, observational cinema vérité, the documentary captures the everyday rhythms of the island. From fishing, family, worship, and the quiet persistence of a community facing environmental challenges, the film excels at showing a sense of place. The crisis of climate change is always present but approached through the lens of devotion and resilience rather than statistics or outside commentary.
Three generations of residents, from the mayor to a young boy, serve as the film’s anchors, and their stories are quietly affecting. You get a real sense of the community’s attachment to home, heritage, and faith, but the slow pacing plays more like a long, meditative sermon than a gripping documentary for a general audience. This is an observational story, and it grows repetitive quickly. The subjects are not universally relatable, which makes the film feel like more of an insider niche type of documentary rather than something open and accessible to the mainstream.
While certainly off-putting for those who aren’t religious, “Been Here Stay Here” offers a gentle, faithful portrait of a disappearing community. It’s immersive and heartfelt but made with a clearly targeted, faith-based audience in mind. For those outside that circle, it might feel more like a serene, unhurried devotional than a documentary on climate change.
By: Louisa Moore
Screen Zealots 