The Island President (2012)

98% of critics liked it
(46 reviews)
74% of users liked it
(3,277 ratings)

The Island President is the story of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, a man confronting a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced - the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. After bringing democracy to the Maldives after thirty years of despotic rule,… More The Island President is the story of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, a man confronting a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced - the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. After bringing democracy to the Maldives after thirty years of despotic rule, Nasheed is now faced with an even greater challenge: as one of the most low-lying countries in the world, a rise of three feet in sea level would submerge the 1200 islands of the Maldives enough to make them uninhabitable. A classic David and Goliath tale, The Island President captures Nasheed's first year in office, culminating in his trip to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009 where the film provides a rare and unprecedented glimpse of the political horse-trading that goes on between world leaders at such a top-level global assembly. -- (C) Samuel Goldwyn

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Directed By: Jon Shenk
Genres: Documentary

In Theaters: Mar 28, 2012 Limited
Studio: Samuel Goldwyn Films

Critic Reviews

Peter Howell, Toronto Star
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.
John Hartl, Seattle Times
Climate-change documentaries are almost always disturbing, but "The Island President" communicates a special urgency.
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune
[An] engaging, gorgeously photographed documentary.
Tom Long, Detroit News
Nasheed is indeed inspirational, a cool-headed but passionate and courageous guy. You end up wishing a lot more leaders were like this guy.
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
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.
Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor
What makes Nasheed's whirligig tactics so urgent is that, unlike most other countries participating in the summit, his own nation is actually in danger of being annihilated by climate change.
Nathan Southern, TV Guide's Movie Guide
One only hopes that the documentary will help advance Nasheed's mission and inspire others to join arms out of shared ecological concern.
Radheyan Simonpillai, NOW Toronto
A fascinating look at an extraordinary personality.
Rob Thomas, Capital Times (Madison, WI)
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.
Louise Gray, Daily Telegraph
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.
Jeff Meyers, Metro Times (Detroit, MI)
As an insight into the cynical nature of world politics, The Island President is wonky but fascinating stuff ... But as a testament to mankind's willingness to change... it's deeply dispiriting.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
The film clearly sides with Nasheed's David as he battles Goliath-like businesses and governments, but it never loses sight of the fact that his efforts to preserve the fragile beauty of the sinking Maldives may already be doomed.
Alison Gang, San Diego Union-Tribune
Shenk's tight storytelling makes for a gripping film that delivers the ugly, at times ennobling, truth.
Brent Simon, Shockya.com
A socially engaged documentary with more heart than head, this slice of boosterism focusing on the exiled Maldives president achieves unexpected ancillary connection as a ground-floor look at a grand clash of political and governmental wills.
, Scotsman
An absorbing portrait of a man trying to turn a tide of indifference.
Sarah Sluis, Film Journal International
Primary meets environmental documentary. A must-see now that political strife has forced the film's subject, President Mohamed Nasheed, to resign.
Rob Hunter, Film School Rejects
Nasheed is a fascinating man with grand ideas that stand in direct contrast to his appearance.
Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film
Shenk gets almost unfettered acccess to Nasheed, who is refreshingly honest about the tactics he is employing to get other countries onside
Phil Contrino, Boxoffice Magazine
It's a gut punch to every single person who has come to the wholly depressing conclusion that the world our grandparents enjoyed may not exist for our children.

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Walter M

In the simultaneously inspiring and harrowing documentary "The Island President," Mohamed Nasheed was elected to the presidency of the Maldives, a 2000 island archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean, bringing an end to a thirty-year repressive dictatorship in 2008. But a new… More
In the simultaneously inspiring and harrowing documentary "The Island President," Mohamed Nasheed was elected to the presidency of the Maldives, a 2000 island archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean, bringing an end to a thirty-year repressive dictatorship in 2008. But a new struggle presents itself in global warming. Currently, the effects there can be seen in erosion and the groundwater. All of which could lead to a unique culture and nation being literally wiped from the map, and its country's population turned into 'environmental refugees.' So, instead of spending valuable resources on health care and education, he has to go with sea walls and other protective measures. So, through this example, we get a disturbing look at what all of our futures may be like if we do not change our ways very soon.(With the use of some great shots, the Maldvies do seem like something out of speculative fiction.) If our behavior affects all others across the globe, then why can't the butterfly flap its wings in the opposite direction, which is where Nasheed comes in, not only in speaking across the world(I'm not recommending invoking World War II usually in speehces, but if you have to, mention Czechoslovakia), but also in proposing to make his country entirely carbon neutral in 10 years by relying on renewable energy sources like solar and wind, making the Maldives an example for the rest of the world. This is harder than it sounds with the economic interests of countries like China and India making things especially difficult with a memorable climax at the climate conference at Copenhagen in 2009. But sadly, Nasheed did not have that much time as he was ousted in a threatened coup in February of this year.

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President Mohamed Nasheed
as President Mohamed Nasheed

The Island President (2012)

Critic Reviews

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Walter M

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