Regina Lepping

A mountainous expanse of the Solomon Islands, known as Sky Aelans, hides in the clouds. Here, there is a chorus of animals, every tree has a story and every drop of water carries a memory. But despite a 2018 pledge to protect mountain regions above 400 meters, this land is being threatened and the Indigenous communities who live in these mountain forests are the last protectors of these high sacred places. They are not simply seeking to save themselves and the land they love, but the creatures who inhabit this pristine island in the clouds.

In the late 1800s, two Solomon Islander siblings, Kiko (16) and Rosa (24), were kidnapped from their Pacific island home and forced to work on a sugar cane plantation in Queensland. In a world where exploitation of Pacific Islanders for cheap labour is legislated and conditions for islanders are akin to slavery, Rosa struggles to keep an eye on her spirited young brother as he journeys into adulthood.