Conference Film
Film screening explores life on islands threatened by climate change
This year, the annual Loyola University Chicago Climate Conference kicked off with a screening of the film We Are Tuvalu in the Damen Cinema on March 12. The film has aired on television stations since 2020, but this was its first official theater screening. The theme of this year's Climate Conference was water, and the film started the necessary conversation about what will happen when sea levels rise, bringing Tuvalu to the center of the discussion on climate change.
Filmmaker John Goheen, senior professional in residence in Loyola's School of Communications (SOC), answered audience questions after the screening. He was joined by SOC alumni Jacob Pieczynski and Annie Kate Raglow, who collaborated on the film.
The sounds of Tuvalu are distinct: the ocean waves hitting the beach, the coo-coos of the chickens that have free reign, and the sounds of locals strumming guitars and singing traditional songs at night.
We Are Tuvalu, directed by John Goheen and three Loyola students from the School of Communication, is a poignant documentary on the impending effects of climate change on the small island nation of Tuvalu. The team from Loyola had one goal: Let the people of Tuvalu tell their own stories. They gave local young people locals cameras and invited them to work in collaboration with the student filmmakers, creating a story all of their own.
Tuvalu [Too-va-loo] is one of the most vulnerable nations in the world in the fight against climate change, but with a culture of care, the nation is willing to work towards a more sustainable future. The film introduces us to local Tuvaluans, giving us a viewpoint into their lives on the small, 10-square-mile island.
The small island nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is home to nearly 10,000 people who have cultivated and carefully cherished Tuvalu's culture, language, and traditions.
"It makes me sad, knowing that my country is going to disappear," said Bernard Gato, one of the locals the film follows. "We're still fighting, getting help, and sending messages that we exist. We don't want to lose our language or lose our traditions. That would be sad."
Like so many people worldwide, the island people are working hard to keep their home safe, and the film displays their efforts to adapt to the changing climate. Many teams are working on creating a community garden, focusing on shifting from imported goods to traditional foods. There is also a push for moving land from one part of the island to another to build up the low parts that might be overtaken by water in the next few years.
However, locals eventually have to ask themselves a tough question: when is the right time to leave? This story is like so many others, for when it goes underwater, the people's history will be gone with the island. Many locals consider the place the most magical place on Earth, but it is no longer safe from climate change.
The film continues to take us through images of life and death on the island. The audience gets a view of the people's lives and how beautiful and hard they might be.
After the screening, filmmakers John Gohen from the School of Communication and alumni Jacob Pieczynski and Annie Kate Raglow stayed to answer questions from the crowd. The discussion helped the audience understand how much this film meant to the alums and their professor.
Overall, the film displays a wonderful image of the beauty of the world while conveying the need to protect whatever people remain on the island. For the people of Tuvalu, it is more than just an island. It is a way of life that few people will ever experience. The Loyola film crew was lucky to encounter its magic and share a glimpse of island life with a broader audience.
-- by Avery Elowson
The sounds of Tuvalu are distinct: the ocean waves hitting the beach, the coo-coos of the chickens that have free reign, and the sounds of locals strumming guitars and singing traditional songs at night.
We Are Tuvalu, directed by John Goheen and three Loyola students from the School of Communication, is a poignant documentary on the impending effects of climate change on the small island nation of Tuvalu. The team from Loyola had one goal: Let the people of Tuvalu tell their own stories. They gave local young people locals cameras and invited them to work in collaboration with the student filmmakers, creating a story all of their own.
Tuvalu [Too-va-loo] is one of the most vulnerable nations in the world in the fight against climate change, but with a culture of care, the nation is willing to work towards a more sustainable future. The film introduces us to local Tuvaluans, giving us a viewpoint into their lives on the small, 10-square-mile island.
The small island nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean is home to nearly 10,000 people who have cultivated and carefully cherished Tuvalu's culture, language, and traditions.
"It makes me sad, knowing that my country is going to disappear," said Bernard Gato, one of the locals the film follows. "We're still fighting, getting help, and sending messages that we exist. We don't want to lose our language or lose our traditions. That would be sad."
Like so many people worldwide, the island people are working hard to keep their home safe, and the film displays their efforts to adapt to the changing climate. Many teams are working on creating a community garden, focusing on shifting from imported goods to traditional foods. There is also a push for moving land from one part of the island to another to build up the low parts that might be overtaken by water in the next few years.
However, locals eventually have to ask themselves a tough question: when is the right time to leave? This story is like so many others, for when it goes underwater, the people's history will be gone with the island. Many locals consider the place the most magical place on Earth, but it is no longer safe from climate change.
The film continues to take us through images of life and death on the island. The audience gets a view of the people's lives and how beautiful and hard they might be.
After the screening, filmmakers John Gohen from the School of Communication and alumni Jacob Pieczynski and Annie Kate Raglow stayed to answer questions from the crowd. The discussion helped the audience understand how much this film meant to the alums and their professor.
Overall, the film displays a wonderful image of the beauty of the world while conveying the need to protect whatever people remain on the island. For the people of Tuvalu, it is more than just an island. It is a way of life that few people will ever experience. The Loyola film crew was lucky to encounter its magic and share a glimpse of island life with a broader audience.
-- by Avery Elowson