AMES, Iowa -- An Academy Award-nominated film that shows the human face of climate change will be presented next week at Iowa State University.
"Sun Come Up, " a film about the relocation of a community of South Pacific islanders threatened by rising sea levels, will be shown at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 25, in the Memorial Union Sun Room. A discussion about climate change and the questions it raises will immediately follow the 38-minute film. The presentation is part of the Msgr. James A. Supple Lecture Series. It is free and open to the public.
A 2011 nominee in the Best Documentary Short category, "Sun Comes Up" chronicles the organized relocation of the 2,500 Carteret Islanders. They were forced to move from their ancestral home — a remote Papua New Guinea island chain — because rising sea levels are expected to make it uninhabitable by 2015. But with close spiritual ties and deep emotional connections to their land and the sea, the relocation means the loss of their identity and memories, as well as their history and culture. And they face a mixed reception when they arrive at their future home — the war torn island of Bougainville.
Following the film, Iowa State faculty Clark Wolf, director of the Bioethics Program, and Cinzia Cervato, professor of geological and atmospheric sciences, will lead a discussion on issues surrounding climate change, displacement and the rights of vulnerable communities around the globe. Anne Clifford, the Msgr. James Supple Chair of Catholic Studies, will moderate the discussion.
The presentation is cosponsored by St. Thomas Aquinas Church and Student Center, Catholic Student Community, the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies and the Committee on Lectures, which is funded by the Government of the Student Body. More information on ISU lectures is available at http://www.lectures.iastate.edu, or by calling 515-294-9935.