Far Away from Far Away

Far Away from Far Away is the story of Zita Cobb, the visionary social entrepreneur behind the innovative economic and artistic transformation of Fogo Island, Newfoundland. It’s a story about the importance of place, and ultimately serves as a reminder that we all walk with one foot in the past and the other firmly in the future.

For 300 years Cobb’s ancestors lived off the water—plying their trade in small wooden boats that stayed close to shores teeming with cod. But the inshore cod trap fishery and age-old hand-line method were no match for the industrial-scale trawlers that came in the 1950s. Cobb grew up on the island, but like many, left with her family when fishing alone could no longer provide enough support. In 2005, she returned with a vision to give back to the place that had given her so much. 

Cobb’s childhood memories, which have ultimately proved crucial to her entrepreneurship, are intimately portrayed, supported by close­ups of nature on Fogo Island. The island becomes a character in itself in the story, told in a personal format and specially made for our most intimate of digital devices: the smartphone.