Samuel Goldwyn Films presents the exclusive iTunes premiere of THE ISLAND PRESIDENT, available today. Visit www.itunes.com/movies/
THE ISLAND PRESIDENT is the story of President Mohamed Nasheed, a man confronting a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced – the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. The handsome, young, crusading leader of the Maldives, a paradise composed of 1200 tiny islands strewn like jewels atop the Indian Ocean, is captured in his first year in office in this David and Goliath tale.
The film reveals his battle with the climate change that threatens to destroy his nation with stunning transparency and intimacy. His candid, intelligent, often humorous speeches and asides make for a totally refreshing experience in political activism as he builds a democracy that replaces decades of oppression and corruption that prevailed before his election. But as he pointedly notes: “It won’t be any good to have a democracy if we don’t have a country.” The Indian Ocean is rising, and if carbon emissions continue at their present levels or if they climb, the Maldives will definitely disappear. Filmmaker Jon Shenk (The Lost Boys of Sudan) gives an honest, no-holds-barred portrait of a man leading the charge to save his 3000-year-old nation — and maybe the rest of us too.
Hailed as a visionary by Time and Newsweek, and named an Amnesty International Prisoner of Conscience, Mohamed Nasheed, the first democratically-elected president of the Maldives, was back in the news on February 7 when he was forced to resign under duress in a coup d’état orchestrated by the military and forces loyal to the former dictator. Yet despite a warrant out for his arrest, Nasheed continues to fight for democracy at home while continuing his work to improve climate policy internationally. In light of this dramatic turn of events, the exclusive iTunes premiere of THE ISLAND PRESIDENT could not be more timely.
THE ISLAND PRESIDENT (U.S., 2011, 101 min.) Directed by Jon Shenk. Produced by Richard Berge and Bonni Cohen. Executive Producer: Jon Else. Editor: Pedro Kos. Sound Recordist: Lincoln Else. Co-Producer: Spencer Adler. Music by Radiohead and Stars of the Lid.