Rebekka Karijord Scores A24 Doc ‘My Mercury’

Composer Rebekka Karijord (she/her) has scored the latest A24 documentary My Mercury, from Oscar-winning “My Octopus Teacher” documentarian Pippa Ehrlich and director Joelle Chesselet. The film follows Joelle’s brother Yves Chesselet, a 28-year-old conservationist who relocates to Mercury Island off the coast of Namibia with the difficult task of establishing a home for the critically endangered Atlantic seabirds of the area. Ehrlich describes how captivated he was by Yves’ saga, calling it an “engrossing ethical challenge” that “examined the harsher aspects of the natural world. This brutality was mirrored by the unraveling of Yves Chesselet as he faces his abusive childhood and the horror of his choices on Mercury.”

As IndieWire states,

The film is billed as an eco-psychological documentary from A24, with the official synopsis reading: “Key to this story are the private diaries Yves kept whilst on the island and 25 hours of his own video diaries, recorded by his closest confidante and soul mate, ‘Vid’, who along with the rare birds of Mercury kept him company for the eight years he lived there. We come to understand a man shaped not only by his love of nature, solitude and a spirit of adventure, but also by his troubled childhood and penchant for escapism.”

Produced by “Searching for Sugarman” George Chignell and executive produced by Nick Shumaker and Mandy Chang, My Mercury was a surprise documentary from A24 that quietly premiered on January 12. You can stream it now on Prime Video.