Featuring Bill McKibben, Durwood Zaelke, and Pacific Island Leaders
Landmark Climate Documentary Re-Released with New 2026 Epilogue
To mark the 25th anniversary of its original PBS broadcast, the award-winning documentary Rising Waters: Global Warming and the Fate of the Pacific Islands will return in Fall 2026 in a newly remastered high-resolution edition, accompanied by a new epilogue produced in 2025.
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 newly remastered edition will be distributed by Bullfrog Films and is available for educational, community, and festival screenings.
More information: bullfrogfilms.com/catalog/rw.html