Constructing an Island follows two sisters whose anxieties are perpetually eased by their mother’s nostalgic tales of an island in the far north of Finland, her childhood summer home. Journeying to the island, they find that it is nothing like what they had imagined—they confront an unsettling, bleak emptiness in stark contrast to the promised idyllic haven. This haunting, essayistic short film delves into the slippery, subjective nature of memory, exploring the chasm between imagined worlds and tangible experience. Through fragmented film strips, 3D models, and ephemera, the sisters and their mother attempt to reconstruct their family’s narratives, blurring the lines of time and perception. Forced to forge their own sanctuary, the three women engage in reenactments and ritualistic set building, transforming the island into a stage for their own cathartic exploration of family dynamics and intergenerational dialogue.  PB