Textbooks often overlook the uncertainty and chaos behind the movements that have irrevocably changed history. But the truth is: Revolutions are messy and unpredictable.

The Sundance Film Festival documentary “Akicita: The Battle of Standing Rock” offers an unsparing view of the turmoil behind the scenes of the recent, months-long protest against installation of the Dakota Access Pipeline across the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in North Dakota.

The film is especially intense, not only because events surrounding the pipeline are still unfolding, but because its director was trying to chronicle the protest while also participating. In his statement about the film, Cody Lucich says: “The truth is that I never wanted the burden of telling this story. I wanted to fight, build barricades, and release weekly videos to raise awareness about Standing Rock.”

But, Lucich, a member of the Maidu Tribe from Northern California, also wanted to ensure the story was told by Native American voices.

The film is dominated by close-up footage of the confrontations that Lucich witnessed during the protesters’ dramatic eight-month occupation of the camp at Standing Rock. According to Lucich, “I was at the complete mercy of the story. There was no planning or control. I couldn’t go out and plan a shoot, or figure out when the story was over.”

The mood of the film soars as tribal representatives, environmental leaders, celebrities and regular citizens from across the country join the protest. But those high hopes are dashed when Lucich exposes internal disagreements between organizers and, ultimately, the brutal tactics used by the oil company to quell the protest. The film includes graphic scenes of heavily armed police unleashing dogs, teargas and mace on unarmed protesters.

Those highs and lows are described in heartrending detail by about a dozen participants in the protest. They reappear as the protest intensifies, and in its aftermath, to explain how their native traditions shaped their response to the oil company, to lawmakers and to local lawmen.

Lucich’s effort to condense almost a year’s worth of footage into a meaningful film received a boost from producers Gingger Shankar and Heather Rae.

“The fact that this story is told from an inside perspective, through the eyes of a Native warrior, is one of the things that makes it so important,” said Shankar.

In addition to providing funding and other support, Shankar, a noted musician in her own right, agreed to compose music for the film.

“It was for the movement. I wanted to help with funding and winter supplies. Whatever was needed, I wanted to be involved. And, of course, once I realized Cody was a one-man show who had been capturing the occupation for eight months, I wanted to help any way I could,” she added.

The encampment was forced to disband almost exactly a year ago, and the pipeline is now a stark reality on the North Dakota landscape. But the protest, and Lucich’s documentary, highlight the larger issues of water quality, native sovereignty and the unsavory tactics that businesses often use to protect their financial interests. Those issues have not been resolved, and as the film suggests, this revolution may not yet be over.

Editor’s note: Filmmakers are still working on the film, and the version screening at Sundance is not the final cut.

“Akicita: The Battle of Standing Rock,” an entry into the Sundance Film Festival’s Documentary Premieres program, is scheduled to screen at the following times and locations:

Thursday, Jan. 25, 6 p.m., Temple Theatre

Saturday, Jan. 27, 9 p.m., Tower Theatre in Salt Lake City

The post ‘Akicita: The Battle of Standing Rock’ takes audiences behind scenes of dramatic Standing Rock dispute appeared first on Park Record.

If President Anote Tong looks familiar, it is because he has spent the last five years tirelessly trying to draw the world’s attention to his country’s desperate plight.

He has traveled to the Vatican to plead with the Pope Francis. He has addressed the United Nations and appeared alongside former U.S. President Barack Obama at the Paris Climate Accord sessions. He has flown over the North Pole to witness the melting glaciers, and he has waded through countless media interviews trying to convey the message that, due to rising sea levels caused by climate change, his country is about to sink into the sea.

If that happens, he warns, other lands will follow. According to Tong, The Republic of Kiribati is the canary in the coal mine.

In 2012, Matthieu Rytz joined Tong’s Quixotic quest to raise awareness of Kiribati’s precarious future. Rytz, an accomplished photographer based in Montreal, specializes in covering the effects of climate change on remote communities. Together, he and Tong deliver a powerful message.

The film’s opening scenes offer a soaring aerial perspective of a verdant island surrounded by a pristine, aquamarine sea as President Tong explains, “We thought that, because we were so isolated, we were immune from the tribulations of this world. But here we are, subjected to the global phenomenon of climate change.”

From the air, Rytz’s camera descends to sea level where fishermen pull in their nets, children play in the water and families gather in simple thatched roof dwellings.

If not for the rising sea, it would be paradise, but Tong’s warnings and Rytz’s deft camera work foretell the coming storms and floods.

In addition to Tong’s international travels — including a scientific expedition to the Arctic Circle — Rytz follows a local family as they struggle to maintain a livelihood on their shrinking island. First the father, then the mother, are forced to find work elsewhere, a fate shared by many of their countrymen.

As Tong’s term as president comes to an end, he vows to continue his efforts to save his nation. Although his hopes to reverse climate change have dimmed, he explores the possibility of building a floating island, or as a last-ditch option, buying land on a nearby island in Fiji.

Tong’s eloquence, paired with Rytz’s stunning photography, combine to form a compelling Sundance-worthy documentary. The film is screening as part of the festival’s New Climate section and will hopefully further amplify Tong’s message that climate change is not a political issue but a global humanitarian crisis.

“Anote’s Ark,” an entry in the Sundance Film Festival World Documentary Competition, is set to screen at the following locations and times:

Friday, Jan. 19, 8:30 p.m., Egyptian Theatre

Saturday, Jan. 20, 6:45 p.m., Redstone 1

Tuesday, Jan. 23, 6 p.m., Broadway 6, Salt Lake City

Wednesday, Jan. 24, 3 p.m., Sundance Resort, Sundance

Thursday, Jan. 25, 3 p.m., Temple Theatre

Friday, Jan. 26, 9 a.m., Temple Theatre

The post Documentary ‘Anote’s Ark’ immerses audience in climate crisis appeared first on Park Record.