The Film
Kiribati from Satellite
Synopsis
“My country is dying.” – Kiribati President Anote Tong.“THE POINT OF NO RETURN” follows the world’s first ecological refugees, residents of a small pacific island nation (Kiribati) whose days are numbered, as they live their lives knowing their island will soon be unable to sustain life.
In the summer of 2008, Kiribati officials asked Australia and New Zealand to accept Kiribati citizens as permanent refugees. Kiribati is expected to be the first country in which land territory disappears due to global climate change. In June 2008, the Kiribati president Anote Tong said that the country has reached “the point of no return”; he added: “To plan for the day when you no longer have a country is indeed painful but I think we have to do that.”
“THE POINT OF NO RETURN” will follow local Kiribati families as their lives ebb and flow around the consequences of the rising tide. Through observational footage and personal conversations, the beauty of the island landscape and the distinct Kiribati way of life, it’s humor, joy, and deeply held spiritual beliefs, are in stark contrast with the reality that their island will eventually be unable to sustain life.
Juxtaposed with the village life, the film also charts the progress of the nation’s president, Anote Tong, as he travels around the world championing the cause of Kiribati. Working with other countries to essentially begin a gradual evacuation of his nation of 110,360 people, President Tong has struck deals with Australia and New Zealand to train a small number of I-Kiribati to perform jobs those countries have trouble filling. He also tries to find other options for Kiribati’s citizens as he pursues his goal of relocating 1,000 I-Kiribati per year for the next 20 years.
Through the personal experiences of both the nation’s President, and selected local families, the film creates a portrait of a community in peril and in transition.
By following the lives of the film’s characters, the film’s drama unfolds to tell a greater story of culture, family, diaspora and the consequences of a world ruled by climate change.
How do the locals who move adjust to life in Australia or New Zealand? Will other countries come to the aid of Kiribati? Will Kiribati be able to purchase land from its neighboring nations? How can a community and a culture sustain the threads of their fraying traditional life, when they no longer have an island to call home?
With such an unpredictable future ahead for the nation of Kiribati, “THE POINT OF NO RETURN” documents the stories that only time can tell.