Solwata

Narrated by Mark Ruffalo, Solwata is a mixed reality installation exploring rising seas in the Solomon Islands due to climate change. Interacting with water and artifacts, audiences enter the vibrant world of the Solwata, or saltwater, people. Using 360° video, Gaussian splats, and 3D animations, participants join Martha, Francis, and Lawrence as they protect their homes and heritage amidst displacement and planned relocation to the mainland. Solwata transforms an abstract threat into a visceral experience of cultural resilience and the loss of home.

It is a privilege to have co-created Solwata with communities in the Solomon Islands who are at the frontline of the climate crisis. One moment from our trip stays with us – diving underwater to see the remains of the submerged island of Walande, which was once home to a thriving community, now entirely displaced due to rising sea levels. It was sobering, and struck us deeply: this could be all our futures.
The ocean that’s consuming their world is the same ocean that connects us all. We created this mixed reality installation to collapse that distance. Through immersion and tactile materials, you inhabit their world, then return to ours – a visceral reminder that what feels distant is intimately ours too.
It forces a reckoning: what is your position in this? What will you do when these changes arrive at your door? That’s the question we want audiences to sit with.

PRODUCTION 1:
NowHere Media - Felix Gaedtke, Gayatri Parameswaran,
Emser Str. 27
12051 Berlin, Germany
Tel: +49 17671575101
E-mail: contact@nowheremedia.net
Web: http://www.nowheremedia.net
Social Media: @nowhere.media - Instagram, NowHere Media - LinkedIn, NowHere Media – Facebook

PRODUCTION 2:
Human Rights Watch Inc. - Sam Dubberly, Christina Curtis,
350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor
10118-3299 New York, United States of America
Tel: +1 917 581 1772
E-mail: dubbers@hrw.org
Web: http://www.hrw.org
Social Media: @humanrightswatch - Instagram, human-rights-watch - LinkedIn, hrw - X (Twitter)

PRODUCTION 3:
Agog: The Immersive Media Institute - Amy Seidenwurm, Mary Matheson,
700 El Camino Real, Suite 120, #1143
94025 Mountain View, United States of America
Tel: +1 323) 697-7646
E-mail: amy@agog.org
Web: http://www.agog.org
Social Media: @weareagog - Instagram, https://www.linkedin.com/company/weareagog/ - LinkedIn,

PRESS OFFICE:
Chiara Cera - Human Rights Watch
Tel: +39 3467813743
E-mail: cerac@hrw.org

ITALIAN PRESS OFFICE:
Chiara Cera - Human Rights Watch
Tel: +39 3467813743
E-mail: cerac@hrw.org