The Pacific Island nation of Kiribati (population: 100,000) is one of the most remote places on the planet, seemingly far-removed from the pressures of modern life. Yet it is one of the first countries that must confront the main existential dilemma of our time: imminent annihilation from sea-level rise. While Kiribati’s President Anote Tong races to find a way to protect his nation’s people and maintain their dignity, many Kiribati citizens are already seeking safe harbour overseas.
Set against the backdrop of international climate and human rights negotiations, Anote’s struggle to save his nation is intertwined with the extraordinary fate of Sermary, a young mother of six, who fights to migrate her family to New Zealand. At stake is the survival of Sermary’s family, the Kiribati people, and 4,000 years of ÂKiribati culture.
Click here to learn more about donating to Sermary’s family eductional fund.
2018
80 Minutes
MATTHIEU RYTZ is a producer, curator, photographer and director. A visual anthropologist by training, his passion for photography and ethnology has led him across the globe to photograph cultural and human diversity over the past ten years. His photographs, as well as those he has commissioned, have been exhibited internationally.
He strives to bear witness to complex human stories and focus especially on the relationship between Man and Nature. He specializes in photographic installation and is currently working on a multidisciplinary project using film, still images and virtual reality – whatever best serves the story.He recently produced, filmed and directed his first feature film, Anote’s Ark, a documentary dealing with the realities of climate justice and migration. It premiered at Sundance 2018. Matthieu was born in Switzerland and is now a digital nomad and can be followed at rytz.co.
WRITTEN, DIRECTED AND PRODUCED BYÂ MATTHIEU RYTZ
FEATURINGÂ ANOTE TONGÂ ANDÂ TIEMERI TIARE
EDITED BYÂ OANA KHINTIRIANÂ ANDÂ MILA AUNG-THWIN
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHYÂ MATTHIEU RYTZ
MUSIC BYÂ PATRICK WATSON
SOUND DESIGNERÂ SYLVAIN BELLEMARE
POST PRODUCTION SUPERVISORÂ VICTOR SANDRASAGRA
COLOURISTÂ FRANCIS HANNEMAN
RESEARCH & RIGHTS SUPERVISORÂ EDMUND DUFF
ASSOCIATE PRODUCERÂ VALERIE SHAMASH
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERSÂ BOB MOORE, MILA AUNG-THWIN & DANIEL CROSS
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS SHARI SANT PLUMMER & SHANNON O’LEARY JOY
Nordic Docs, May 8th-12th 2019 (Norway)
World Premiere at Sundance Film Festival, January 2018 (USA)
Big Sky Film Festival, February 2018 (USA)
Environmental Festival in the Nation’s Capitol, March 2018 (USA)
Bates College, March 2018 (USA)
European Premiere at Movies that matter, March 2018 (Netherlands)
Film Ambiente Rio, April 2018 (Bresil)
Cleveland International Film Festival, 4 – 15 April 2018 (USA)
ACT Human Rights, 5-8 April 2018 (USA)
Philadelphia Environmental Film Festival, 6 -8 April 2018 (USA)
Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival, 12 -28 April 2018 (USA)
EarthxFilm Dallas, 13 – 22 April 2018 (Texas, USA)
Visions du Réel, 12 -21 April 2018 (Switerzland)
Thin Line, 18 – 22 April 2018 (USA)
Good Film Festival, 26 – 29 April 2018 (SWZ)
Canadian Premiere at Hot Docs, 26 April  – 6 May 2018
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, 3 – 12 May 2018 (USA)
DocLands Documentary Film Festival, 3 – 6 May 2018
Doxa Documentary Film Festival, 3 – 13 May 2018 (Canada)
Northwestfest Edmonton, 3 – 13 May 2018 (Canada)
TRT Documentary Days, 10 – 14 May 2018 (Turkey)
Millenium Docs Against Gravity, May 11 – 20 (Poland)
Seoul Eco Film Festival, 17 – 23 May 2018 (South Korea)
Doc Edge New Zealand, 9 May – 4 June
Telluride Mountain, 25 – 28 May 2018 (USA, Colorado)
Festival International de Cine Medioambiental de Canarias, May 25 – June 3 (Spain)
CinemAmbiante, 31 May- 5 June 2018 (Italian premiere)
Lighthouse International Film Festival, 7 – 10 June 2018 (Maine)
Valetta Film Festival, 8 – 17 June 2018 (Malta)
Human Rights Watch Film Festival New York, June 14 – 21 2018
Aspen Ideas Festival, June 21 – 30 2019
Ecuador International Film Festival, July 4 – 8 2018 (Ecuador)
International Maritime Film Festival, July 12th 2018 (Maine, USA)
Cinéma sous les étoiles, July 12th 2018 (Montréal)
Les Percéides, August 16 – 26 2018 (Québec)
Savonlinna International Nature Film Festival, August 17 – 19 2018 (Finland)
Forum ÉcoVillages 2018 aux Diablerets, August 24 2018 (Switzerland)
DocUtah International Documentary Film Festival,  September 3 – 8 2018 (Utah, USA)
Baikal International Film Festival “People and the Environmentâ€, September 21-25 2018
Buffalo Niagara International Film Festival, September 26 – 29 2018 (USA)
Filmfest Hamburg, September 9 – October 10 2018 (Germany)
Take One Action! September 13 – 24 2018 (Scotland)
Kaunas International Film Festival September 20-30, 2018 (Lithuania)
Just Peace Festival The Hague, September 22 (Netherlands)
Baikal Int Film Festival “People and Environmentâ€, September 21 – 25 2018 (Russia)
FICMAYAB’, October 2 – 16 2018 (Guatemala)
Environmental Film Festival “PEFF†Patagonia, October 3 – 6 2018 (Argentina)
Utah Climate Week, October 4th 2018 (USA)
Another Way Film Festival Madrid, October 4 – 7 2018 (Spain)
Center for Architecture and Metropolitan Planning in Praha, October 7th 2018 (Czech Republic)
Environmental Film Festival Australia, October 11 – 18 2018 (Melbourne)
Docs MX, October 11 – 20 2018 (Mexico)
Salem Progressive Film Series, October 16th (MA, USA)
Innsbruck Nature Film Festival, October 9 – 12 2018 (Austria)
CineEco 24th Serra da Estrela International Environmental Film Festival, October 13-21 (Portugal)
Vermont International Film Festival, October 18 – 28 2018 (USA)
Human Right’s Watch film San Francisco, October 23 (CA, USA)
Yes Film Festival, October 26 – 28 (Colombus, USA)
CROSSROADS Graz, October 31 – November 11 (Austria)
Sustain Trinidad and Tobago, October 31 2018
Brattleboro Film Festival, November 2 -11 2018 (Vermont, USA)
Singapore Eco Film Festival, Nov 1 – 4 2018
Crossroads Film Festival, Oct 31 – Nov 11th 2018 (Austria)
San Diego Asian Film Festival, Nov 1 – 10 2018 (USA)
EarthxMexico, Nov 8 – 11 2018
Hawaï Film Festival, November 8 – 16th 2018 (USA)
Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival, November 8 – 18 2018 (USA)
Science Museum London, November 16 2018 (England)
World of Knowledge St Petersburg, November 16 – 20 2018 (Russia)
Kendal Film Mountain, November 15 – 25 (UK)
Black Nights Tallinn, November 16 – December 2 2018 (Estonia)
Festival Ma plan̬te, November 16 Р18 2018 (France)
Anchorage International Film Festival, November 30 – December 5 (Alaska, USA)
Watchdocs IFF, December 7 – 13 2018 (Poland)
Human Rights Zurich, December 5 – 10 2018 (Switzerland)
Film de l’Énergie de Lausanne (FIFEL), December 17 2018 (Switzerland)
Tournai Ramdam Festival, January 12 – 22 2019 (Belgique)
Regards Croisés La Rochelle, January 25 2019 (France)
Rain International Nature Film Festival, Kerala, South India, January 25 -27 2019 (India)
San Diego Human Watch, February 1-4 2019 (USA)
Festival International du Film Documentaire Océanien, February 2 – 10 2019 (Tahiti, France)
Global Migration Film Festival on Marshall Islands
Docs and talks Danish cinematheque, Jan. 31 – Febr. 6, 2019
HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival Oslo, Feb 25 – Mar 3, 2019 (Norway)
Festival du Film Vert NYON – March 16 2019 (Switzerland)
Festival du Film Vert BULLE – March 17 2019 (Switzerland)
EnviroFest Tunisia, March 20 2019
United Nations Cinema (ONU), March 20 2019
Human Rights Film Festival – University of San Francisco (USA), March 21 2019
Friends of the Earth Malta, April 2019
Millenium Film Festival, March 24 – April 2 2019 (Belgium)
Festival du Film Vert LAUSANNE GRAND-VENNES – March 24 2019 (Switzerland)
Festival du Film Vert NEUCHÂTEL – March 24 2019 (Switzerland)
Censurados Film Festival (Peru), March 23 – 30 2019
Lichter FilmFest Frankfurt (Germany), March 26 – 31 2019
Festival du Film Vert LAUSANNE GRAND VALLON – March 29 2019 (Switzerland)
Festival du Film Vert YVERDON-LES-BAINS – March 31 2019 (Switzerland)
Festival du Film Vert CAROUGE CINÉMA BIO – April 2 2019 (Switzerland)
Quai Branly Paris (France), April 2019
Suchitra Environmental Film Festival (India), April 2019
Geneva Graduate Institute (Switzerland), April 2019
Jacob Burns Film Center in Pleasantville New York (United States), April 2019
FINCALI (Colombia), April 23 – 27 2019
Cinemateket Trondheim, May 6th-7th 2019 (Norway)
Best Documentary feature at FICMEC
Best Feature Award – San Francisco Green Film Festival 2018
Best Feature Award at the Philadelphia Environmental Film Festival
Special Mention in the International Documentary competition section at Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
Sustainability Award (Sponsored by City of Denton Sustainability) at Thin Line, Texas
Prix ACIC-ONF du Meilleur long métrage documentaire canadien – Les Percéides
Baikal Int Film Festival “People and Environment†The Baikal special prize for the urgency of the problem
MaPlanet(e) 2018 Festival Aquablier d’Argent – Silver Aquablier
Prix GREENPEACE SWITZERLAND 2019
Environmental Anthropology Award – Liberty Seguro – CineEco 24th Serra da Estrela International Environmental Film Festival
World of knowledge St-Petersbourg – Special diploma from the organizational commitee
Honourable mention – HUMAN International Documentary Film Festival Oslo
3nd place, Jury Award for Best Feature Documentary at the 2018 Anchorage International Film Festival.
Pelicam International Film Festival (Romania) – Grand Prize
