Anote’s Ark (2018) – IMDB rating 7,1/10 (126 votes)
What happens when your nation is swallowed by the sea? With the harsh realities of climate change looming, the low-lying Pacific nation Kiribati must find a new solution for the survival of its people. With sweeping cinematography, Anote’s Ark interweaves two poignant stories. Anote Tong, endearing president of the island, races to find options—advocating in international climate negotiations and even investigating building underwater cities. At the same time, warm and sharp-witted Sermary, a young mother of six, tackles every struggle with humour. She must decide whether to leave the only culture she knows on the island and migrate to a new life in New Zealand.
First-time filmmaker Matthieu Rytz sharply captures the next evolution in the shifting dynamics of climate change—one where borders, technology, and global treaties are urgent and can change daily life as we know it. This portrait of the Kiribati people exudes strength of character and grace as they confront the inevitable change they are facing head-on.

Anote’s Ark screeing is part of the succesfful Rhizobia Series  a collaboration between LAB111, Supernova Cinema, Stichting Art.1 and Gemeente Amsterdam Stadsdeel West. Rhizobia is a forward-thinking series in which we will explore various, prescient environmental issues and global perspectives on climate change through the spectre of film. The vast majority of environmental news stories are negative in nature, mostly given the conventional wisdom that increasing people’s concern or even fear of climate change are effective triggers for panic-stricken action. This series seeks to contest this notion by creating a space in which alarm overlaps with hope, knowledge and contemplative observation.

With an introduction by one of the initiators of Rhizobia Festival Galo de la Huerta (Supernova Cinema).