‘Our island no longer exists’: Solomon Islands climate documentary heads to COP31

A documentary captured in virtual reality is telling the story of Solomon Islanders forced to abandon their homes as sea levels rise.

Solwata which means "salt water" in Solomon Islands pidgin premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is now heading to Türkiye for COP31.

Narrated by Hollywood actor and climate activist Mark Ruffalo, Solwata brings audiences face to face to the realities of climate displacement through virtual reality.

The 25-minute documentary follows the communities of Walande, Ngongosila and Kwai in Solomon Islands' Malaita Province, where the climate crisis has forced families to confront the possibility of leaving their homes behind.

And for the people of Walande, this is not a distant threat, but a reality as the island they once called home has already been swallowed by the sea.

Human Rights Watch climate displacement researcher Erica Bower said this documentary will put global audiences in the shoes of Solomon Islanders.

"Today, their island no longer exists," she said. "It is submerged beneath the waves. When you stand on their mainland in their new site and you look back to where the island used to be, all you see are posts sticking up above the waves."

Walande, a community of approximately 800 people, was forced to relocate from its small offshore island after decades of battling rising seas, king tides and increasingly severe storms.

The community largely organised and financed the move itself, with support from its diaspora and some outside assistance.

But even after relocating to the mainland, residents continue to face threats from flooding and limited access to land.

Created by NowHere Media and coproduced by Human Rights Watch and Agog - The Immersive Media Institute, the documentary combines virtual reality, spatial audio, physical interaction and firsthand testimonies.

Participants wearing virtual reality headsets can move between physical and digital environments, reaching into water and interacting with culturally significant objects as they experience the stories of Solomon Islanders.

Bower said the technology helps audiences to understand the crisis beyond statistics and scientific climate projections.

"This is really a project about how climate change is a deeply human story.

"We often see climate change discussed through data and policy and projections, but Salwata is really focusing on the human experience, what it means when people lose their homes and their communities and their cultural identities because of rising seas."

While relocation is often discussed as a practical response to rising seas, Bower says it is more complex.

The loss of ancestral land can also mean losing connections to cultural traditions, family histories and places of spiritual significance.

For Walande, preserving such connections has been particularly difficult. Bower says the emotional toll remains more than a decade after the community began relocating.

"There is a lot of trauma. There is a lot of tears that are still shed because of because of this process, and it's been over a decade."

Academy Award-nominated actor Mark Ruffalo, known for his role as the Hulk in Marvel's Avengers films, joined the project as narrator and executive producer.

A longstanding advocate for environmental justice and human rights, Ruffalo said the documentary moved him because of the personal stories of families whose lives have been uprooted by the climate crisis.

"Well, this is a global issue, and we don't know how it's impacting the communities that are on the front lines. They're usually remote, and they're usually outside of our media and storytelling."

He said the immersive experience offers audiences an opportunity to connect with people whose struggles might otherwise remain unseen.

One story in particular, left a lasting impression on him.

"There's a story about a girl who keeps going back there to the submerged island to. her canoe there, and she spends hours and hours there, kind of mourning her her the loss of it, you know."

For Ruffalo, the documentary is also a reminder of the strength of communities facing such extraordinary challenges.

"We have to act together. When the going gets tough, they don't go into self-survival mode. They actually come together."

Bower said Ruffalo's involvement has helped draw international attention to the project, but the voices of Solomon Islanders remain at its centre.

The documentary builds on Human Rights Watch's 2025 report, There's Just No More Land: Community-Led Planned Relocation as Last Resort Adaptation in Solomon Islands, which examined the community's experience and the human rights implications of climate displacement.

Bower said the findings reinforce the need for governments and international donors to provide meaningful support for communities facing relocation.

That includes ensuring communities themselves have a say in how funding is used, where they move and how their cultural identities are protected.

"Fundamentally, it's about really protecting the right to self-determination to make sure that especially indigenous communities can make adaptation decisions on their own terms and on their own timelines in a dignified way."

With COP31 taking place in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November, Solwata will bring the experiences of Solomon Islanders into the world's biggest climate conference.

Bower hoped the documentary will encourage governments to recognise that climate displacement is not simply an environmental issue, but one that directly affects fundamental human rights.

She saids countries must develop stronger policies to support communities facing relocation, with adequate funding, community consultation and safeguards for cultural heritage.

"So really, now is the time to learn lessons from the past, from communities like Wolande, make sure their voices are heard, and really get implementation right to make sure that there's adequate financial and technical support for communities like Wallande in the future."

As world leaders gather to negotiate the next steps in global climate action, she hopes the documentary will help bridge the distance between decision-makers and the people already living with the consequences.