Parramatta screening, The Hungry Tide

The documentary directed and produced by veteran Australian filmmaker, Tom Zubrycki continues to maintain its relevance and act as an advocate for change for the tiny island nation. Embraced by environmental film festivals around the world as well as the prestigious International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), the people of Kiribati have claimed the film as a source of education. “There’s a copy in Ban Ki-moon’s office,” Zubrycki says over the phone in advance of the Paramatta screening and discussion. “People I made the film with thought it was important the Secretary-General of the United Nations had the film, so when he arrived at Kiribati last year they handed him a copy."

"Kiribati is a country that has such a tiny voice on the international stage. Now that climate change is not rated as important as it was perhaps a couple of years ago when I was making the film, it’s even harder for a country like that to have it’s voice heard. Every little bit helps and this film does and will. Certainly people from the Islands see it as a really good way of dramatising what’s happening to their islands.”

In a strange development that Zubrycki finds puzzling, the film most recently had it’s website hacked. “Perhaps the climate deniers did that,” he reflects. “It could be part of an organised attempt to close down voices that are trying to discuss climate change in a meaningful way. I have no idea!”

Screen Café is a series of monthly film screenings at Riverside Theatres.