‘The Island President’2pm Saturday at BUEI“It won’t be any point to have democracy if we don’t have a country.”This bald statement by then-President of the Maldives Mohamed Anni Nasheed is the crux of the matter facing the country comprising over 1,000 islands in the Indian Ocean, none of which is more than one-and-a-half metres above sea level.Its bluntness is also typical of the forthrightness of the young President whose triumphant election ended the regime of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who for 30 years (1978 to 2008) ruled the archipelago like a Mafia don.The film, directed by Jon Shenk, traces the long struggle of Nasheed and his colleagues to overcome the twin challenges facing the Islamic country, described by Nasheed as “a cross between paradise and paradise”.Through it is drawn the portrait of a clever, dynamic and optimistic politician on a crusade to save his country.The first part of the film comprises shots of gorgeous sunsets and tropical beaches interspersed with interviews with former political prisoners and current members of cabinet that reveal horror stories of the inhumane treatment of opponents to the former regime as the film traces the battle to oppose Gayoom’s nepotism, corruption and autocratic rule.Having overcome the first challenge of establishing democracy, the newly-formed government realised an even more pressing problem faced them: rising sea levels due to melting polar ice caps threaten to submerge the entire country.The problem had been forcibly brought to the country’s attention by the 2004 tsunami which destroyed much of the Maldives; in some instances entire islands had to be abandoned.The rest of the film follows this smart and determined politician and his ministers as they try to convince world leaders — of the developing nations of India, China and Brazil in particular — of the urgency of establishing acceptable levels of greenhouse gas emissions at the Copenhagen summit in December 2009.The audacity and bravery of Nasheed is displayed as he engages in shuttle diplomacy: he quotes Ghandi to the Indians, cites 1939 Poland to the British and holds an underwater cabinet meeting to drive his point home.His refusal to stand by and wring his hands also means he undertakes to make his the first entirely carbon neutral country in the world, hoping to shame larger countries into do the right thing.Close-cropped shots of interviews, candid footage of family meals and hotel rooms, historical footage and BBC news footage together with spectacular aerial and underwater shots combine to make a compelling story of a committed and humble man’s crusade to save a nation.“We have a culture. We have a language. We have a civilisation,” Nasheed states as he pleads for his country’s continued existence.It also shows just how exhausting and frustrating the effort can be.As Bermuda is one of the front line states in the fight against global warming, I believe every Bermudian should watch this film.