OCEANIA
Journey To The Center
Feature Length Documentary by Tekinati Ruka and Natalie Zimmerman
In Post-Production
SYNOPSIS:
“MATANG is a place beyond the familiar
A place where the sun both rises and sets.
A place where a great many things are made –
and exchanged.
A place where many stories are told.
I live in the very center of our watery planet.
This place we call TUNGARU.
My home and our ways –
all predicted to soon be washed away by the sea.
We too, have many stories to tell.” - Tekinati Ruka
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OCEANIA: Journey to the Center, begins on a coral atoll – predicted to become uninhabitable by 2030, due to rising sea levels and temperatures brought by climate change. We are invited on a journey with a mother and her adult son as they strive to maintain their culture, freedom and independence after decades of colonizing encounters.
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PROJECT TEAM:
Director/Writer/Producer: Natalie Zimmerman
Co-Writer/Creative Producer: Tekinati Ruka
Producer: Guetty Felin (Ayiti Mon Amour, Seeking Mavis Beacon, Lights of Passage)
Music: Shahzad Ismaily
ExecutiveProducer: Godfrey Reggio (Koyaanisqtatsi, Anima Mundi, Visitors)
Consulting Producer: Sara Dosa (Fire of Love, The Edge of Democracy, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power)
Associate Producer: Lyn Collie (There Once was an Island/Te Henua e Nnoho, Crossing Rachmaninoff)
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PROJECT STATUS:
As of August 2023, Final Cut. Director recently nominated/awarded 2022 Filmmaker Residency with Woodstock Film Festival (funded by Gigantic Pictures/Theoria Foundation) where she worked closely with Barbara Kopple, Yoruba Richen, Alex Smith during the month of May 2022. Project selected and presented at Ji.Hlava 2021 New Visions Forum: US DOCS in Czech Republic.
LOOKING FOR FINISHING FUNDS VIA: grants and equity partners
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