About the film: Kõmij Mour Ijin / Our Life Is Here, David Buckland, dir. | 2025 | 70 min. | English / Marshallese

Reception: 5:15pm
Screening: 6pm

Kõmij Mour Ijin / Our Life is Here documents the 2023 journey that brought together Marshallese elders and youth with an international team of artists, writers, scientists, and filmmakers to consider the intertwined legacies of nuclear testing and a changing climate across the Marshall Islands.

Shot in 4K Ultra High Definition, 24 fps, with spectacular drone footage and underwater cameras filming in and among the resident sharks, turtles and radiated shorelines, the sound score by Philip Glass reinforces that this piece is about now, the 21st century, in a world that is stressed to breaking point. The film centers a week-long residency at Bikini Atoll, where the United States conducted 23 nuclear detonations, including Castle Bravo, its largest-ever nuclear explosion.

Moving beyond a story of loss, the film centers Marshallese voices, cultural resilience, and enduring relationships with land and ocean, while asking what their experiences can teach us about the shared challenges of an uncertain climate future.

A reception will be held prior to the screening. A talk-back with photographer Mark Klett, photographer Michael Light, Director David Buckland, and additional artists, curators, and faculty will take place at the conclusion of the film.

Preceding the screening, a guided tour of a photography installation at Giannini Hall featuring the work of Mark Klett will be led by Klett and Bill Fox, founder of the Institute for Art + Environment. Space is limited and separate registration is required. Register here.

About the campuswide event

These events are part of Komij Mour Ijiin/Our Life is Here, a year-long series of exhibitions, installations, courses, and public programs across UC Berkeley during the 2026–27 academic year.

Guided by the Environmental Arts and Humanities Initiative, the series centers Marshallese artists and acts of cultural return through satellite exhibitions and installations at Doe Library, BAMPFA, Giannini Hall, Memorial Glade, and Worth Ryder Gallery; a film screening at the Graduate School of Journalism featuring responses from faculty and artists; and allied events and courses across campus.

Together, these programs invite the UC Berkeley community to engage with Marshallese histories and perspectives while exploring nuclear legacies, climate change, cultural resilience, and our shared futures. The initiative will culminate in Fall 2027 with the full Komij Mour Ijiin/Our Life is Here exhibition at the David Brower Center, incorporating critical and creative contributions from the UC Berkeley community.

Presented by the UC Berkeley Environmental Arts & Humanities Initiative, in partnership with the UC Berkeley School of Journalism. The Kõmij Mour Ijin / Our Life Is Here expedition was organized by Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner, Michael Light, and David Buckland, and supported by Stellar Blue Fund and Cape Farewell. Special thanks to independent curators of UC Berkeley Kõmij Mour Ijin / Our Life Is Here exhibitions and events Amy Kisch and Svea Lin Soll.