By Tova O’Brien
A film made over the course of four years by a group of Kiwi film makers, There Once Was An Island, set out to tell the tale of the people of Takuu – a remote atoll in Papua New Guinea.
With scientists on board to track the threats caused by climate change, the film is an award-winning blend of science, film, and human conflict.
The movie follows the lives of three Takuu islanders and the decisions they face as their island becomes increasingly affected by climate change.
Producer Lyn Collie says although the atoll is remote, the people that live there are well aware of the consequences for staying or leaving the island.
“They know what it’s like elsewhere and the members of the community who want to stay are really aware of that choice and they’re making the choice to stay,” she says.
Ms Collie says spending time on the island gave her a sense of her own privilege and fuelled her commitment to film.
“You just want to make sure you do your best, and when the process of making the film was tricky, the thing that kept me going was the fact that we’d made a promise we would make a film and try and get the story out there,” she says.
The story has so far been well received.
“It looks beautiful – it’s really intimate and heart felt, I think people are generally very moved when they see it,” says Ms Collie. “I keep hearing that from people again and again.”
The film has just won the Grand Prix at the International Pacific Documentary Film Festival, and will be screening at the Big Sky Festival in Montana later this month.
3 News