Andrea Torrice’s national public television documentary, Rising Waters: Global Warming and the Fate of the Pacific Islands, follows Pacific Islanders on a journey through several of the smallest nations on earth, showing what they believe are the first signs of global warming. It interweaves the portraits of four people from the islands of Samoa, Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Fiji into the larger international discussion over what to do about global warming. The program also discusses the potential impact of climate change of the island of Manhattan.

In addition to airing on national PBS, Rising Waters was also aired on National Geographic World channel in 100 countries, has won 14 awards, and has been viewed by policy makers, educators, activists, and government officials throughout the world at numerous festivals, conferences and public forums. Some of the screenings include: a special session on climate change for the United Nations General Assembly; a congressional hearing on U.S. energy policy; East-West Center at the University of Hawaii; and the Alliance of Small Island States, which is comprised of ambassadors from all the island nations throughout the world. It was also screened at the 2002 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit) in Johannesburg, South Africa, and it was presented at the 2001 Annual Conference of the Association of American Anthropologists and was also part of a special program at the American Museum of National History. It screened as part of the National Council of Churches environmental education program to 100 cities across the United States to help generate public discussions about international climate change policies.

It was supported by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Independent Television Service and Pacific Islanders in Communications, the National Council of Churches, the National Science Foundation’s Pacific Island Environmental Science Education Program at the University of Oklahoma, Nu Lambda Trust, the Center for Independent Documentary and sponsored the Film Arts Foundation.