Oceania: Journey to the Centre

The film is a reflective call to action as the Pacific Island nation of Kiribati faces rising sea levels and predictions that it will be uninhabitable by 2030.

Following the 75-minute screening, Tekinati will take part in a Q&A, sharing insights into the making of the film and the realities facing Kiribati.

OCEANIA begins at the centre of the planet on a coral atoll – predicted to become uninhabitable by 2030 due to rising sea levels and temperatures brought by climate change. We journey with a mother and her adult son as they struggle to maintain their culture, freedom and independence. In the wake of decades of colonising encounters, we soon realise our seemingly disparate histories, experiences and fates — are all connected.

Oceania is a lyrical documentary that explores climate change over 8 years through the eyes of two characters in the remote Pacific island nation of Kiribati. Tekinati is deeply grounded in her indigenous culture and environment, despite generations of Western depredation. Now, as the climate changes, her adult son Charles tries to find a path into his future which becomes increasingly disrupted.

Some Western environmentalists have viewed Kiribati and other Pacific nations simply as a canary in climate change’s cage – their destruction proof of a climate emergency. In Oceania, we are offered counter-narratives that examine deeper geopolitical histories of colonisation and the impact this continues to have on the I-Kiribati people and possible solutions for their future.

Tekinati Ruka is a native of Kiribati with extensive knowledge of the island’s shifting landscape as well as indigenous cultural traditions. She teaches workshops across the 33 islands on traditional lifeways including planting/growing techniques in high heat/low rain conditions. She is a singer and storyteller within her village community and a main subject within the story of OCEANIA.