After a respected family with a legacy of advocacy for the Marshall Islands loses a 3 year old child named Nito, they must simultaneously navigate grief while confronting the nuclear legacy and rising sea levels that plague their homeland to preserve hope for their childrens’ futures.
The Marshall Islands is a country of 29 atolls and 5 islands in the Pacific. Between 1946-1958, the US government tested 67 nuclear bombs on several islands including Bikini Atoll. While the fallout was promised to be contained, radioactive debris spread over hundreds of miles in both the air and the water. Tony deBrum, a 9-year-old boy at the time, remembered the sky turning blood red while he was fishing with his grandfather. Another child remembered his grandmother shoving him under her skirt as the ash fell to the earth. His grandmother died the following week. Bikini islanders remain displaced as the area is still contaminated by radiation.
Tony deBrum dedicated his life to ensuring the preservation of the health and welfare of his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. As Minister of Foreign Affairs and Climate Change Ambassador, Tony’s work often drew him away from the Marshall Islands. He campaigned internationally not only for recognition of the continued suffering of his people due to the nuclear legacy, but also to address climate change in a global way. On his return from his advocacy at the Paris Agreement on Climate Change in 2015, his great-granddaughter Nito met him at the airport and with the curiosity of a child filled with joy and light, she resolved to help him with his mission however she could. Nito’s dream was to become a butterfly and join Tony on his next journey to Paris. However, her life was cut short just months later by a rare blood disease that was unable to be identified, let alone treated, in the limited resource setting of the Marshall Islands. She was just shy of her 4th birthday when instead of butterfly wings she gained angel wings.
The rising sea levels are changing life on the Marshall Islands in real time. It is a country and a culture that is literally disappearing beneath the tides. However, most of the world has never even heard of the Marshall Islands. In his final interview before passing away in 2017, Tony shared that during his time in international politics, he witnessed hearts soften to challenging issues when the message came from a small, non-threatening country like the Marshall Islands, and especially when heard through the voice of a child. He understood that it is easier for Marshallese to remember these important messages because of the daily reminders in each of their lives. He believed it is imperative to stop pointing fingers at whoever is to blame. Instead he encouraged people to set a simple goal: to leave the world a better place than they found it.
With the participation of Tony and Nito’s family this film seeks to present crucial issues the world is facing, such as climate change, nuclear testing, and the effects of colonization on global health all from the innocent perspective of a child.
Olivia began her career in filmmaking at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where she focused on cinematography and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 2006. To date she has shot over 30 narrative features and 5 documentary features. She directed her first scripted film that sold to Lifetime in 2022. And most importantly, for the past several years she has been directing and producing her own documentary project, The Herricanes, which won the audience award at SXSW in 2023. Olivia’s current projects in development include a scripted film about the first woman sportscaster to break the locker room barrier, as well as a documentary centered on one family in the Marshall Islands confronting the nuclear legacy and rising sea levels that plague their homeland. Olivia’s work can be seen at oliviakuan.com.
Producer - Abby Lance
Co-Director - Deborah Yoder
