First airing nationally on Earth Day 2001, RISING WATERS was among the earliest films to examine the climate crisis through the lived experiences of Pacific Island communities. At a time when global warming was still widely debated, the documentary offered a prescient and deeply human account of island nations already confronting rising seas, intensifying storms, drought, and the threat of displacement.

The remastered 25th-anniversary edition features leading climate advocate Bill McKibben, International environmental policy expert Durwood Zaelke, and Pacific Island leaders including Penehuro Lafale, alongside voices from Fiji, Samoa, the Marshall Islands, and Kiribati. The new epilogue revisits the region nearly a quarter-century later, examining what has intensified and how island nations continue to lead through resilience, diplomacy, and climate advocacy.

Since its release, RISING WATERS has received 14 major awards and aired nationally on PBS and internationally on National Geographic World, reaching audiences in more than 110 countries. The film has been screened for policymakers and global leaders, including at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly and during a U.S. Congressional hearing on energy policy.

The original version of Rising Waters is also available on DVD, DSL and streaming from Bullfrog Films and Docuseek.



Grade Level: 7-12, College, Adults
US Release Date: 2026     Copyright Date: 2026

Reviews "Perhaps it is no great wonder that the issue of global warming appears so remote to most U.S. citizens. The front lines of the crisis, and even the venues of the debate are so remote...The brilliance of this film is that it brings these front lines into your living room." The Amicus Journal "Hauntingly beautiful, this groundbreaking film is a quantum leap from pedantic environmental films...revealing a remarkable pan-Pacific effort to save entire nations...utilizing new science and a fresh idiom." MountainFilm Festival Program "A successful tool to illustrate the effect of industrialization on our global ecosystem...Recommended" Barb Butler, Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, MC Journal "The documentary treats global warming itself as an anthropogenic catastrophe in the making. Indeed, the strength of this approach to global warming is the human and cultural dimension that this film highlights." H-NET MULTIMEDIA REVIEWS, published by H-Environment@h-net.msu.edu (June, 2002), Reviewed for H-Environment by Douglas Sackman, University of Puget Sound