| The Island President | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Film poster | |
| Directed by | Jon Shenk |
| Produced by | Richard Berge Bonni Cohen |
| Starring | Mohamed Nasheed |
| Cinematography | Jon Shenk |
| Edited by | Pedro Kos |
| Music by | Radiohead Marco D'Ambrosio |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Samuel Goldwyn Films |
Release date |
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Running time | 101 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Languages | English Maldivian |
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|---|---|---|
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The Island President is a 2011documentary film about the efforts of then-President of the MaldivesMohamed Nasheed to tacklerising sea levels resulting fromclimate change.[1] Produced byActual Films and directed by Jon Shenk,[2] the film premiered at theTelluride Film Festival. The film received critical acclaim and won theToronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award for Documentaries.
The government of the Maldives has predicted it would be inundated as a result ofglobal warming since 1988, when its forecast was "completely cover this Indian Ocean nation of 1196 small islands with in the next 30 years".[3]
The film was funded by groups including theFord Foundation, the AmericanCorporation for Public Broadcasting, theJohn D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, theAtlantic Philanthropies and theSundance Institute.[4]
At the2011 Toronto International Film Festival,The Island President won theCadillac People's Choice Documentary Award.[5][6]
US rights toThe Island President were acquired bySamuel Goldwyn Films.[7] The film opened inNew York City on March 28, 2012, followed by releases in other US cities, likeLos Angeles and San Francisco.[8]
The Island President received positive reviews from critics. On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 98% of 49 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "An eye-opening and appealing documentary about an earnest politician up against the closed door drama of climate change."[9]Metacritic, which uses aweighted average, assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[10]
A. O. Scott ofThe New York Times described the film as "buoyant and spirited" despite a grim postscript, praising its "spectacular aerial and underwater footage of the Maldives' beauty" and stating that "It is impossible, while watching it, to root against Mr. Nasheed or to believe that he will fail".[11] Noel Murray ofThe A.V. Club gave the film a "B−", praising "the energy and conclusiveness" of its opening sections, but writing that "the movie stalls a bit" during the sections of international diplomacy.[12]
After Nasheedstepped down as president in February 2012, Shenk said that he hoped his film could help convince the world that Nasheed was deposed in acoup that was orchestrated by loyalists to the former dictator,Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. "That might be the single most important thing that the movie can do. It's now clear that this new government is not democratic, that the people who run the ministries are the same people who were there under the dictator."[1]
A gradual rise in average sea level is threatening to completely cover this Indian Ocean nation of 1196 small islands with- in the next 30 years, ac- cording to authorities. The Environmental Affairs Director, Mr Hussein Shihab, said an estimated rise of 20 to 30 centimetres in the next 20 to 40 years could be "catastrophic"
