PASIFIKA Film Fest and Doc Society have announced the eight projects that have been selected to participate in the inaugural Climate Story Lab Pacific to be held from Aug. 11-15, 2025 at Pasifika Communities University in Suva, Fiji.
As the first Pacific lab, CSL aims to strengthen Pacific climate storytelling projects and impact campaigns, spur partnerships to mobilize strategic audiences and funding opportunities, and grow confidence in the power of social impact storytelling in the region. Participants will receive impact and pitch training, and will develop their pitching tools and documents with a view to presenting their pitches in Sydney in October.
Teams from Tuvalu, Tahiti, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Guam and the Northern Marianas, and Aotearoa New Zealand have been selected to workshop their stories in collaboration with industry experts as mentors and workshop facilitators.
Selected projects include Aselu Vaguna O’Brien’s “The Island Will Not Sink,” centering the island nation of Tuvalu, one of the countries projected to lose their land first as global tides rise;
“Waves of Knowledge: Oral Histories of Pacific Resilience,” by Papua New Guinean storyteller Lavau Nalu focuses the stories of PNG elders, indigenous knowledges and epistemologies;
Fijian filmmaker Caleb Young will explore the largely female community of plastic pickers behind Fiji’s beautiful beaches and landscapes, in his documentary “The Plastic Pickers of Paradise”;
Marianas documentary “The Canoe is Our Future” created by Sheila Babauta and Sylvia Frain, follows a community’s journey of canoe building and traditional navigation;
PNG filmmaker Laurence Korup’s documentary “Anchored in Resilience: Life on Pam Island Amid Rising Seas,” follows the Pam Island community, as they innovate their way through changing climates and tides over the years;
Tahitian filmmaker Virginie Tetoofa amplifies the voice of cultural leader and activist Hinano Teavai-Murphy, in the documentary “Te Moana Nui a Hiva”;
Fijian narrative story “COPE,” create by Tumeli Tuqota, places a microscope on climate negotiations and how the dynamics of these dialogues could and would change if they took place in the Pacific;
Finally, Aotearoa New Zealand production company Brown Sugar Apple Grunt (Vai, The Legend of Baron To’a) joins CSL Pacific for the development of six-part series “The Island” created by Fijian filmmakers Sharon and Nicole Whippy. Set in Aotearoa, it follows the lives of Fijian climate survivors forced to relocate. Kerry Warkia, Sharon, Nicole and Māori writer Briar Grace-Smith (Waru, Cousins), will also be working with CSL Pacific fellows in a mentoring capacity.
PFF Director Kalolaine Fainu said, “CSL Pacific is a significant opportunity for the Pacific to continue this dialogue about the Pacific climate narrative in the region, while also equipping emerging Pacific storytellers with the opportunity to hone their craft and learn new elements of the industry. We are thrilled to be collaborating with Doc Society on this initiative, continuing recent work in Papua New Guinea, and Australia in 2025.”
Doc Society Director of Special Projects Hollie Fifer said, “It is incredibly exciting that Climate Story Lab will be coming to the Pacific for the first time thanks to hosts Pasifika Film Fest. It is a beautiful opportunity to workshop the most strategic narratives for climate in the Pacific, supercharge a group of selected storytellers who are deep in their climate creations and identify the challenges and solutions of telling such stories and getting them in front of audiences where they can create real meaningful change. If we are to meet this global challenge adequately, we need to realize the resilience of communities, their solutions and bring to life their stories with the same complexities as the ecosystems and cultures we cherish.”
As PFF looks toward CSL Pacific in Suva, the cohort has already taken part in two online sessions, with teams introducing their projects and getting to know each other.
Papua New Guinean storyteller Dr. Lavau Nalu said, “I’m so excited to be returning home to the Pacific for the Climate Story Lab in Suva. Aside from the fresh taro, I’m really stoked to yarn and tok stori with storytellers from across the region, all committed to protecting our home. This first ever CSL is game changing — a space where we can explore innovative ways to amplify Pacific stories and make sure our voices are heard in the face of a global emergency.”
