"The Island President"

Here we sit, on the cusp of the Filmfest DC:  April 12th to the 22nd.  This 26th Annual International Filmfest will have more than 80 films will be shown in the 10 day period are being shown at more than a half dozen locations.  The selection is huge, and you can download a copy of the film catalog here.

One of the highlights of the Filmfest is a Jon Shenk's documentary entitled "The Island President."  DC film dates are Monday, April 16, 2012 @ 2:00 pm and Tuesday, April 17, 2012 @ 6:15 pm.  The premise of the story is that of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives.  The first democratically-elected president to the country, he has faced unrest with the changing political vision of the country which elected him president...in the documentary, you find he is also facing an issue of environmental unrest. 

The Maldives are one of the lowest-lying global countries, and a "sinking" country at that.  No, the Maldives truly aren't sinking...it's the ocean around them that is rising.  With an average elevation of 1.5 meters above sea level (and the highest elevation of 2.5 meters above sea level), a little oceanic  rising would mean a LOT to the inhabitants of the Maldives.  Scientists fear that due to climate change/global warming, the Maldives could be beneath water somewhere between 2050 and 2100.  At 2012, this is NOT good news.



Adding insult to injury, Mohamed Nasheed was forced to resign by gunpoint on February 7th, 2012, bringing back the 30 year old dictatorship with human rights violations and more. 

To learn more about the Maldives and The Island President, especially now as they are again enmeshed in political unrest, check out the movie's website.

To see a slideshow of images of the Maldives, with captions that encapsulate the severity of the environmental situation of the Maldives, check out MSNBC's Maldive's slideshow.

Whether or not your in DC for the Filmfest and can catch this film, the trailer is indeed in the category of "Must See TV."  To view the trailer above, click the video above, check out http://youtu.be/hQgUrxAzaYY, or go to the "The Island President" Website.

"The Island President" image from http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1990352/, and map from http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/asia/mv.htm