What happens when your homeland disappears beneath the sea? For the communities featured in Solwata (Saltwater), this isn't a hypothetical future - it's already happening.
Perfectly aligned with Climate Week NYC’s Environmental Justice theme, the immersive documentary reminds us that protecting communities that are hit hardest by flooding, drought, or rising sea levels, begins by listening to the people living through it. One of the defining questions of environmental justice is who gets heard when decisions about climate adaptation are made.
Throughout Climate Week NYC, we'll be spotlighting the communities, innovators and storytellers ensuring those most affected by climate change are shaping the solutions.
Premiering at the Venice Film Festival, Solwata is an immersive documentary narrated by last year’s Climate Week NYC-speaker Mark Ruffalo, and co-produced by the Emmy nominated duo, Felix Gaedtke and Gayatri Parameswaran of NowHere Media. Rather than telling communities' stories from the outside, the film was created with residents of Walande, Ngongosila and Kwai in the Solomon Islands, ensuring they shaped both the narrative and the experience itself – and raise funds for a seawall.
We spoke with Felix and Gayatri about why immersive storytelling matters, what environmental justice means in practice, and what they hope audiences will take away.
"The people losing their homes contributed almost nothing to the climate crisis, yet they are paying its highest price. That, in itself, is unjust."
Climate change is often discussed through science and policy. Why was it important to tell this story through the voices of the people living it?
Felix Gaedtke: Climate change can feel overwhelming because it's often discussed in abstract terms. We wanted to make it tangible by showing what it means for individual people and families. When audiences connect with someone's everyday reality, the climate crisis becomes far more relatable.
Gayatri Parameswaran: One of the communities we worked with, Walande, has already lost its original island to the sea. Standing on the mainland, community members can point to where their homes once stood, but nothing remains above the water.
That experience makes climate change impossible to dismiss as something distant. The ocean surrounding the Solomon Islands is the same ocean that connects all of us. Their future is connected to ours.
What challenged your own understanding of climate change while working with the communities?
Gayatri: There is no doubt within these communities that climate change is happening, they are living through it. What struck us most was their resilience. The people of Walande relocated together, rebuilding their village collectively with very limited government support. They knew what they needed and organised themselves around those solutions.
Felix: We also saw something surprisingly familiar. Some people wanted to relocate early, while others hoped the flooding was a one-off event. Those conversations mirror debates happening everywhere, from Germany to the United States. Climate change may look different in different places, but people's responses are often remarkably similar.
One of the central themes of Climate Week NYC is ensuring the communities most affected by climate change have a meaningful say in shaping solutions. How did you work with community members to ensure Solwata was created with them, rather than simply about them?
Gayatri: Because immersive storytelling is still a relatively new medium, we began by introducing the technology itself. Community members tried the headsets, explored the cameras and understood how their stories would be experienced. We then spent days with community elders discussing what the film should say, who should tell the story and what the community wanted audiences to understand.
Just as importantly, we asked what the community should receive in return. One urgent priority was raising awareness of their need for a seawall, so every screening also helps amplify fundraising efforts for the community.
Felix: Co-creation didn't stop after filming. Throughout production we remained in close contact with our Solomon Islands partners, sharing creative decisions and seeking approval at each stage wherever possible.
What can immersive storytelling achieve that traditional documentaries or reports cannot?
Felix: Every storytelling format has value, but immersive experiences allow audiences to step into someone else's world. They can stand alongside people in places they may never otherwise visit and hear directly from those living the reality of climate change.
That sense of presence creates empathy in a way that's difficult to replicate through other formats.
The documentary shows that planned relocation is about much more than moving homes. What do you hope audiences understand about the human side of adaptation?
Gayatri: One story that stays with audiences is Martha's. Even after relocating, she continued paddling back to the island where her home once stood because she couldn't bear to let it go.
People aren't only losing houses. They're losing ways of life that have existed for generation, how they fish, travel, gather and live together as a community.
Felix: Land also represents ancestry, identity and belonging. Some communities even face the painful task of relocating cemeteries. Those are losses that statistics alone can never capture.
What does environmental justice mean to you after making this film?
Gayatri: The people of Walande, Ngongosila and Kwai contributed almost nothing to the climate crisis, yet they are among the first to experience its consequences. That imbalance lies at the heart of environmental justice.
It's also a reminder that while these communities are living this reality today, it could be any of us tomorrow.
Felix: The most vulnerable communities are almost always affected first and hardest. But they are also warning us about the future. We shouldn't assume these impacts will remain somewhere else.
What do you hope this project ultimately achieves?
Gayatri: We hope Solwata reaches policymakers, climate finance institutions and advocacy spaces like Climate Week NYC, and COP31, where decisions are made. Communities facing climate displacement need adaptation funding, relocation support and policies that allow them to shape their own futures. Our goal is for these voices to be heard by the people who have the power to act.
This story is not simply one of loss. It is one of resilience, leadership and hope and a powerful reminder that environmental justice begins by ensuring those on the frontlines of climate change are not only heard, but empowered to shape the solutions.
Solwata produced in partnership with Human Rights Watch and Agog, will premiere a week ahead of Climate Week NYC, at Venice Film Festival before screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and the BFI London Film Festival. The producers also hope to bring the experience to future international climate and policy events, helping ensure the voices of frontline communities remain at the centre of the global climate conversation.