Four years in the making, There Once was an Island: Te Henua e Nnoho is the story of a Pacific Island community in Papua New Guinea and their fight to preserve what really matters in the face of climate change. Takuu atoll is an idyllic home to articulate, educated people who maintain a 1200 year-old culture and language. Takuu is disintegrating and when two scientists arrive to investigate, the people realize that their attempts to preserve the atoll are currently making the situation worse. With limited communication or support, the people of Takuu must make the difficult decision of either staying and risking physical safety or becoming environmental refugees, leaving for a very different life in neighboring Bougainville. Ultimately There Once was an Island is about what makes us who we are and what we all stand to lose as climate change unfolds.
