Guest Blog: Director of Arctic Documentary “KIVALINA PEOPLE” Seeks Support on Kickstarter From Climate Adaptation Community
Hi, my name is Gina Abatemarco
and I am the Director and Producer of the feature documentary film Kivalina
People, which takes place on the island of Kivalina, Alaska.
In 2010 EcoAdapt scientist
Rachel Gregg wrote a case
study on the pressures that Kivalina is facing and invited me to share the
work that I have done in Kivalina with the climate adaptation community.
For those who don't know
Kivalina, it's a small barrier island located 80 miles above the Arctic Circle
and home to 400 Inupiat Eskimo people who face the grave effects of
climate change on their infrastructure, foundations, and cultural and
subsistence livelihoods. Made of silt, sand, and permafrost, the island is
eroding into the waters that surround it and has been determined by the U.S
Army Corps of Engineers to be in “imminent danger” of flooding. Kivalina has
received international press not only for its desperate need to relocate, but
for its 2008 $400 million dollar lawsuit against 24 oil and gas companies
including BP America and Exxon Mobile.
Spurred by a 2007 newspaper
article about these issues, I have been working in Kivalina for the past five
years on a feature documentary called Kivalina People. Kivalina People
is a cinematic and intimate portrait of everyday life in Kivalina for
its Inupiat people during today's period of unprecedented environmental and cultural
changes in the Arctic. It is a visual and creative work, intended to provide audiences
a rare and palpable experience of the complexities of living in the modern Arctic
and within an Inupiat culture. As the Arctic continues to warm, changing conditions
have facilitated interest from oil companies in particular for future
exploration in the region, which may further threaten these Arctic communities.
It is important that we finish Kivalina People promptly and add
it to the growing dialogue of the future of the Arctic.
We need your help!
Kivalina People is currently on Kickstarter and needs the help of our
extended communities to raise funds for post-production. For those who are not
familiar with Kickstarter, it is a safe and legitimate way to raise money where
all payments are processed by Amazon. We hope you will take a moment to see our Kickstarter page and view a clip of the film. We have
until April 25th to raise $25,000. If we do not reach our
goal, none of our donors will be charged, and we collect none of the funds
raised.
We are very excited to share
our work with this community and hope that Kivalina People will
contribute to the dialogue on the future of small Arctic communities and others
affected by climate change. Please consider supporting Kivalina People
by making a donation and/or sharing our campaign with your community. In
supporting Kivalina People, you will be joining a community
including the Tribeca Film Institute, IFP's Spotlight on Documentaries, The
Puffin Foundation, NYU's Richard Vague/Columbus Award, and Vision Maker Media
who will bring the film to public television.
If you would like to contact
me with questions or would like to find out how to alternatively make a tax
deduction you can reach me at: gabatemarco@gmail.com.
Gina Abatemarco
Director/Producer Kivalina
People
Brooklyn, NY
