Hurricane Ian documentary now streaming on demand
For the first time, “On Sanibel: The Hurricane Diaries” is available on demand, making it widely accessible for anyone who wants to watch Hurricane Ian footage.
“I am very excited about that, but also nervous. I am putting something that I carefully nurtured and cherished in my hands — all the stories and footage — and I am now putting that out in the world — I have a little sense of trepidation, or anxiety,” Laura DeBruce, the film’s director and producer, and council member, said. “I am happy that it is out there. I show and tell the story of this beautiful and unique place where we are all fortunate to live.”
The documentary can be rented on demand at www.onsanibelfilm.com, with 48-hour access for $6.99. The site accepts card and PayPal payment.
Starfish Lane Productions LLC produced the documentary.
The first viewing for “On Sanibel: The Hurricane Diaries” was scheduled two years after Hurricane Ian struck on Sept. 28, 2024.
“Then on Sept. 26, 2024, we got hit by Helene and the island was under water, and the event was cancelled. Then Milton hit six days later,” DeBruce said.
The documentary ended up having a post script added regarding the explanation of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.
There have only been a few viewings of the documentary — a fundraiser for Community Housing & Resources, Roots in Resilience and at the Fort Myers Film Festival in 2025 where it was voted the festival’s Audience Favorite.
DeBruce said due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Ian the only way those who evacuated could return to the island was by boat. She said everyone was frantically coming over anyway they could — through captains and hard to find places to board boats.
After DeBruce and her husband Jeff Blackman saw their home for the first time, she hiked back to the boat and ended up falling and fracturing her wrist.
“All I wanted to do was work and muck out the downstairs and clean up the house. There was so much work to be done,” she said.
With a fractured wrist, she started taking videos, first to originally send home, but soon morphed into telling the island’s story. DeBruce began interviewing neighbors, unfolding conversations of those who stayed on the island.
“Diana Taylor and I just started traveling around the island and interviewed people who stayed, or didn’t stay and were back on the island,” she said. “It was shocking, and devastating, of course.”
Blackman said when they returned to the island by boat, they only went to their slice of the island, their slice of destruction, and were not thinking broadly of what happened to the island.
“When the causeway opened back up and we came by car and we drove around the rest of the island, it kind of sunk in — holy smokes this island was really hammered. It was definitely a shock,” she said.
Although everyone was taking care of their homes, and businesses, so many people began reaching out and helping neighbors.
“It was tremendous devastation, and amazing the stories that emerged from helping,” DeBruce said.
The documentary shares these stories. The resilience, the community coming together to help one another, and slowly making it through the layers of destruction, and most of all — hope.
DeBruce said the documentary captures those moments — during the storm, and the sense of community that emerged after the storm.
“Sanibel has always been a close knit community. It changed after the storm and became a little bit closer,” she said. “A little bit more broken, but broken together.”
Everyone lost so much in terms of their homes and businesses, and many people left the island after the storm, or could not return.
Unthinkable experiences, and positivity were also shared.
Some of those in the film include the owners of the Over Easy Cafe, as they had a very heroin experience as the water rose higher in their home, and Councilmember Holly Smith, who was the mayor at the time, had an incredible positive force.
“She (Smith) had a single-handed mission to make sure the island came back. It was quite something to watch it unfold,” DeBruce said, as it was really hard to be optimistic.
The truly special part of the documentary was everyone who trusted DeBruce with their stories and footage, as everyone sacrificed something in order to stay on the island.
“That meant the world to me. Every piece of footage in this film is with someone with a deep love of Sanibel,” she said, adding that is what sets her documentary apart from others. “These are stories told by islanders — they live here, experienced the storm, and went through it. In some ways we went through it together. I love that fact.”
Blackman said a film about a disaster quickly became a labor of love.
The documentary also includes Cinematography by Sanibel-native filmmaker Chad Hatcher, with an original score by Emmy Award-winning composer Kat Epple and a song by David Rocks and The Gincident.
To reach MEGHAN BRADBURY / mbradbury@breezenewspapers.com , please email