Charting an environmental crisis in the Niger Delta community of Okrika

Through a recollection of clips filmed in 1974 and 1990, combined with present day footage, Pülö investigates the various forms of pollution in Okrika, a Niger Delta community located in the Southern part of Nigeria. It is a story about the ijaw tribe by the Atlantic ocean and their inclination to water, and the risk of losing such a cherished and fundamental resource to Big Oil. The Niger Delta, which used to be on par with the Amazon rainforest due to its biodiversity, is now considered to be one of the most polluted regions on planet earth. The documentary shows the environmental socio-economic effects of oil extractivist activities on the population of Okrika, especially women and children, as the "community" is the protagonist of this film, speaking through various voices. Christina’s voice is one of them — as the film's producer and director who is also an indigene directly affected by the Island’s environmental degradation. She narrates personal experiences in her hometown and links the grief associated with losing her grandmother with the gradual decay and degradation of her people’s land, water and culture. Who are we when we lose the traditional knowledge and practices of ancestors, whose only link to us is the environment they once dwelled in?

Pülö hinges on the passing of time through archives, the role of the people as cultural custodians, the sacredness of water, and the risk of losing one’s identity with the spreading of neo-colonial models. The most heartbreaking detail is the constant question the film probes: will this be the last time we ever hear of this Island?