The Maldives, a tropical paradise for tourists in the Indian Ocean, faces a big problem. Global warming has led to rising ocean levels, leaving the hundreds of tiny islands that make up the country at risk of disappearing. President Mohamed Nasheed is on a mission to stop this from happening. With extraordinary access, filmmaker Jon Shenk documents the challenges of Nasheed’s first year in office, which also include the struggles to build democratic government after years of brutal military rule. A former political prisoner himself, the charismatic Nasheed knows how to get attention, holding a cabinet meeting underwater for the press. Yet he is no show pony, as his game-changing, impassioned speech at the Copenhagen Climate Summit makes clear. As he puts it, “It won’t be any good to have a democracy if we don’t have a country.” Beautiful cinematography and a haunting soundtrack by Radiohead deepen this urgent real-life drama. Presented by the University of Missouri (IK)