OCEANIA
Journey To The Center
Feature Length Documentary by Tekinati Ruka and Natalie Zimmerman
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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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World Premiere: Mill Valley International Film Festival -2024
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