Abdullah Al-Salim Ellai was born on Socotra, a remote Yemeni island known for its exceptional wildlife diversity and striking coastlines. As Ellai tells it, when he was young, it was normal for locals to live in caves and subsist on fishing. But today, most have moved to the island’s towns, making Ellai, now in his 60s, the last person on Socotra to call the caves his home.
This lushly captured short documentary from the filmmaker Ivan Olita finds Ellai living amid striking contrasts and contradictions. While he prefers the contours of life in his cave, looking out on a serene blue lagoon, he also has a wife, children and a home in town. And, embracing his title as the ‘Caveman of Socotra’, he earns a living by sharing his life with the island’s increasing number of tourists. More than just a portrait of a man caught between eras, the film becomes an illuminating exploration of what it means to live authentically in an age when the reach of smartphones is inescapable.
