The Island President (2012)
88%RT Audience Score: 77%
Awards & Nominations: NA
An eye-opening and appealing documentary about an earnest politician up against the closed door drama of climate change
The Island President” is a documentary that will make you want to stand up and fight for what you believe in, just like the charismatic and determined man it portrays. With breathtaking visuals and a fitting soundtrack, this film communicates the urgent need for action on climate change. Nasheed’s story is both inspiring and heartbreaking, and it’s impossible not to wish for more leaders like him. If you’re looking for a documentary that will leave you feeling motivated and empowered, “The Island President” is the perfect choice.
Production Company(ies)
Kurosawa Production Co., Sammy Toho Company,
Distributor
Samuel Goldwyn Company
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
Copenhagen, Denmark
MPAA / Certificate
Rated PG for thematic elements, some violent content and smoking
Year of Release
2012
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 41m
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Language(s):English
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Mar 28, 2012 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 25, 2017
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, climate change, Mohamed Nasheed, president, Maldive Islands, global warming, sea level rise, environmental refugees, renewable energy, carbon emissions, Copenhagen Climate Summit, Bonni Cohen, Richard Berge, Jon Shenk, PG, English, Samuel Goldwyn Company, $75.2K, reviewed by Radheyan Simonpillai, Peter Howell, Louise Gray, John Hartl, Tom Long, Ann Hornaday, Jordan M Smith, Mattie Lucas, Naila Scargill, Kelly Jane Torrance, Nathan Southern, Rob Thomas, starring Mohamed Nasheed, directed by Jon Shenk, written by Jon Shenk, produced by Bonni Cohen, Richard Berge, executive produced by Jon Else, cinematography by Jon Shenk
Worldwide gross: $80,996
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $104,422
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 3,020
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 11,387
US/Canada gross: $76,398
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $98,494
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,668
US/Canada opening weekend: $13,998
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $18,047
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,547
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Jon Shenk – Director, Cinematographer
Jon Else – Executive Producer
Bonni Cohen – Producer
Richard Berge – Producer
Director(s)
Jon Shenk
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
Bonni Cohen, Richard Berge
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
NA
Academy Awards
All Critics (49) | Top Critics (22) | Fresh (48) | Rotten (1)
A fascinating look at an extraordinary personality.
June 15, 2012 | Rating: 3/5
Radheyan Simonpillai
NOW Toronto
TOP CRITIC
The Island President is an important portrait of a determined man standing fast in a place where the ground is literally shifting beneath his feet.
June 14, 2012 | Rating: 2.5/4
Peter Howell
Toronto Star
TOP CRITIC
If you are in a fight, you want this man on your side. He is charismatic, brave and most of all entirely believes in what he is what he is doing. I’m not sure he know the meaning of the word compromise.
June 1, 2012
Louise Gray
Daily Telegraph (UK)
TOP CRITIC
Climate-change documentaries are almost always disturbing, but “The Island President” communicates a special urgency.
May 3, 2012 | Rating: 3/4
John Hartl
Seattle Times
TOP CRITIC
Nasheed is indeed inspirational, a cool-headed but passionate and courageous guy. You end up wishing a lot more leaders were like this guy.
April 26, 2012 | Rating: B+
Tom Long
Detroit News
TOP CRITIC
Shenk expertly weaves Nasheed’s extraordinary personal story together with the Maldives’ breathtaking natural beauty and a Capra-esque tale of dogged idealism and political courage to create wonderfully vivid cinematic portraiture.
April 20, 2012 | Rating: 3/4
Ann Hornaday
Washington Post
TOP CRITIC
Pairing these striking visuals with a fitting soundtrack…The Island President makes for a polished piece of documentary work that paints its subject as a stifled martyr.
February 9, 2020
Jordan M. Smith
IONCINEMA.com
A smart and engaging portrait of a man for whom this issue hits closer to home than anyone, illustrating a tremendous issue that is now too big, and no longer able, to be ignored.
August 6, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
Mattie Lucas
From the Front Row
The Hilton LightStay Sustainability Award, part of a programme in association with the Sundance Institute, is given to films that heighten sustainability awareness. And they could not have picked a better candidate than The Island President.
February 28, 2019
Naila Scargill
Trebuchet
Yet the documentary is at its most engrossing when it moves away from the big picture and focuses not on Mother Nature [but] a few of the people she affects — especially the title character.
January 4, 2019 | Rating: 3/4
Kelly Jane Torrance
Washington Examiner
One only hopes that the documentary will help advance Nasheed’s mission and inspire others to join arms out of shared ecological concern.
January 7, 2013 | Rating: 3.5/4
Nathan Southern
TV Guide
The haunting “How to Disappear Completely” plays over the closing credits. If Nasheed isn’t able to wake up the world to his country’s plight, in a few decades, that could be the new Maldives national anthem.
June 8, 2012 | Rating: 3/4
Rob Thomas
Capital Times (Madison, WI)…
Plot
After bringing democracy to his country, President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, the lowest-lying country in the world, takes up the fight to keep his homeland from disappearing under the sea.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t have anything goofy or funny to say about The Island President, but they do mention that Mohamed Nasheed, the president of the Maldives, is an “extraordinary personality” and “charismatic, brave, and most of all entirely believes in what he is doing.”
Jon-Shenk.jpg
