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Here's The Pitch: The Mouse That Roared
Vancouver International
Film Festival Television Trade Forum
29th September 2002
The final pitch of the day rounded off the event on a
welcome witty and light note although the subject matter continued to
address serious environmental issues.
In The Mouse That Roars, Laurie Long talked about how the nation of Tuvalu
whose small country is threatened from the rising waters caused by global
warming is fighting back. Tuvalu is a group of nine coral atolls in the
South Pacific Ocean, half way from Hawaii to Australia. It comprises of
a flat area all of 26 sq km.
In 2000 the nation made the headlines when at the peak of the internet
boom it leased its domain name ".tv" for $50 million in royalties over
the next twelve years. The money has been used to buy membership of the
United Nations and the nation was planning on taking legal action against
the US, Australia and Canada for reneging on commitments to reduce global
warming. Ironically, it would be the first to leave the UN because the
lands had disappeared under the rising Pacific.
Long said Tuvalu is not willing to be "the canary in the climatic coal
mine"; the story is about the underdog fighting back.
Long’s pitch rippled with colour and humour. Perhaps because it was the
last pitch and energy levels were flagging, the panel were muted in their
reponse. The story, to me, seemed the strongest of the bunch and the most
universal in its appeal. Who knows, the panel members may have had similar
projects brewing. Or perhaps it reflects a general fatigue in the UK with
"worthy environmental issues".
The eloquence of the pitch caused Klein to comment that it would make
a good magazine article. He asked, since Tuvalu was unlikely to follow
through with its threat to sue where the end point of the doc would be.
Submersion?
Long agreed that there were a lot of magazine articles out there but little
television on this subject. This was a humourous piece and envisaged the
experience of Tuvalu being a rallying point for environmental groups world
wide through footage shot at the United Nations and on the islands of
Tuvalu. There’s a great documentary to be made there.
Summing Up - ingredients
for success
More VIFF coverage
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