Located in the Chesapeake Bay, approximately 90 miles southeast of Washington, D.C., Tangier island is slipping away.
Since 1850, two-thirds of Tangier Island has disappeared, and what remains may be uninhabitable within the next two decades.
For generations, the watermen of Tangier have worked these waters, their way of life deeply tied to the rhythms of the Bay.
Those who live in and around the Chesapeake Bay know that these waters hold more than just tides—they hold history, stories, and generations of people who have built their lives in rhythm with the sea.
Several islands in the Chesapeake Bay have already slipped beneath the surface. As shorelines receded, the communities of those islands thinned and scattered before disappearing.
Tangier Island is not just another place at risk; it is a piece of the Bay’s living history, and its fate is bound to all of ours. Will we say we paid attention, or that we turned away?
This spring, veteran filmmaker David Usui’s critically acclaimed documentary A Chesapeake Community on the Brink: BEEN HERE STAY HERE makes its highly anticipated North American premiere at the DC Environmental Film Festival (March 25th) and Annapolis Film Festival (March 28th & 29th).
Through quiet, observational storytelling, the film captures the tension between faith and science, tradition and change, as Tangier’s residents—deeply rooted in their Christian beliefs—navigate a future that feels increasingly uncertain.
Their story is not just about loss, but about resilience, about what it means to belong to a place even as the tides insist otherwise.
Praised as “heartfelt” by The Black Cape and described by Beyond the Cinerama Dome as a film that “loves the island it documents and prays for its ability to adapt,” BEEN HERE STAY HERE offers a rare and deeply human look at a community standing at a crossroads.
Director David Usui and special guests will be in attendance at both festivals for post-screening discussions.
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