The trailer and poster premiered for Sundance 2018 doc Anote’s Ark directed by Matthieu Rytz. Anote’s Ark is the first feature doc to be shot in the Republic of Kiribati, an island nation in the Pacific Ocean that will gradually disappear with rising sea levels, which may grant it’s citizens the unfortunate title of first climate refugees in history.

Anote’s Ark is the first feature film directed by Matthieu Rytz, filmmaker and photographer specialized in visual anthropology. After initially being exposed to the plight of a people about to see their very land disappear during a visit to the Kuna Yala archipelago in 2012, Matthieu Rytz decided to document the lives of the citizens of Kiribati. He thus follows the country’s president, Anote Tong, on his journey through international halls of power and climate conferences leading up to COP21. He attempts to get his message heard loud and clear by political and economic leaders while fighting to protect his people, as numerous people in Kiribati are already seeking refuge abroad. Anote’s fight is thus intertwined with the extraordinary fate of Tiemeri Tiare, a young mother of six who decides to relocate to New Zealand with her family. Through both of these portraits, Matthieu Rytz explores issues related to the survival of Tiemeri Tiare’s family, of the population of Kiribati as a whole and of 4,000 years of Kiribati culture.