As winter stretches on, the short days and February weather encourage particularly hermit-like behavior in all of us – at least until spring is here. It seems perfectly appropriate then, that I finally got around to watching Somewhere to Disappear, a short documentary following photographer Alec Soth on his trail to find and document those who want to vanish from society, live in peaceful isolation and become ‘modern-day hermits’. Filmmakers Laure Flammarion and Arnaud Uyttenhove follow Soth and his fascination for this subject, accompanying him on part of his road trip across America in which he discovers hideouts in forests, mountains, caves and deserts, meeting all sorts of characters along the way. Beautifully shot and full of surprises, it’s great to watch as both an insight into the creative process of photography but also into the essence of what it is to ‘disappear’. Have a look also at Alec Soth’s images from this project here.
