The Island President chronicles Mohamed Nasheed’s efforts to combat climate change and save the Maldives from rising sea levels.​

Despite the many signs that climate change is already happening, hence the need to switch to alternative energy to mitigate its effects, climate change means the end for the people living in the low-lying Maldive islands.

If the sea rises three feet, the archipelago of 1,200 islands in the Indian Ocean will become inhabitable. Otherwise, it will submerge, and the country will be wiped off the Earth.

A new movie called The Island President, directed by Jon Shenk and released on DVD on Friday, tells the story of the country’s former president, Mohamed Nasheed. Nasheed has become known for his trip to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009, where he pleaded with the world to act fast to ward off the worst consequences of climate change.

The film captures Nasheed’s first year of office and culminates with his trip to the summit, providing a rare glimpse of the political dealings at such a top-level global assembly.

Nasheed brought democracy to the Maldives after thirty years of despotic rule, but even worse than the dictatorship he helped to displace is the threat to his country’s very existence. He is usually candid about his strategies, which include leveraging the Maldives’ underdog position as a tiny country, harnessing the power of the media, and overcoming deadlocks through an appeal to unity with other developing nations.

At the 2009 summit, when delegates had lost hope of signing an accord, Nasheed made a stirring speech that salvaged the agreement. Despite his country’s modest size, Mohamed Nasheed has become one of the leading international voices for urgent action on climate change.

The Island President - Website