SAVING TUVALU tells the story of a community at the frontline of the climate crisis and the race to transfer the nation to the metaverse. Tuvalu, a tiny island in the Pacific, is predicted to be the first nation to disappear under rising sea levels. In response to this threat, the Tuvaluan government is racing to preserve the island and its culture by turning it into the world’s first digital nation – in the metaverse. But not everyone is looking to technology for salvation. At the centre of our story are three Tuvaluans who are fighting to save their country in different ways; Kato, a charismatic climate activist lobbies on the global stage, but can his stories save his nation or will he have to build a life in a new country like so many others of his generation? Uilla, is a labourer working on land reclamation projects to physically build Tuvalu’s islands up and out before it’s too late, but can land reclamation really withstand rising seas? And Simon is an ambitious MP who has a vision for a digital future for Tuvalu, but what is the metaverse really offering? Can it preserve a culture under threat or is it a form of digital colonisation? Our story and the fate of Tuvalu reflects the greatest challenge of our time through the eyes of a community with everything to lose. This is a deeply personal, political and high-stakes human interest story that exposes our collective will to survive – in the face of circumstances that are coming for us all.
Kate Blackmore is an Australian artist and filmmaker whose films have been presented across cinematic, broadcast and contemporary art contexts. She has written, directed and produced over 25 short documentaries about art and culture for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, including The Art of Collecting and the Walkley Award nominated series The Movement. In 2024, Blackmore began production on her debut feature documentary, Make it Look Real, produced by Bethany Bruce (Staple Fiction) and Daniel Joyce (Projector Films). The film follows an intimacy coordinator on her quest to change the way sex scenes are created. Make it Look Real was supported in development by Screen Australia, Create NSW and the SAFC and was selected for the inaugural Doc Society New Perspectives Pitch Lab, and the Sunny Side of the Doc Global Pitch 2021. The film is represented by Autlook Film Sales.
