Pulau Plastik Film

Pulau Plastik is the story of a rock star, a biologist and a lawyer joining forces to tackle the impact of plastic pollution on our environment and our health.

The film follows the journey of Gede Robi, the Balinese vocalist of grunge-band Navicula, who for the past decade has used the stage and his broad popularity to campaign for environmental issues. Over the past two years, Gede Robi has made the issue of plastic pollution his ‘personal crusade’ as he has witnessed how plastic has influenced the culture and spiritual rituals of Bali, and how microplastics have entered our food chain. 

Robi meets Prigi Arisandi, a biologist and river guard from East Java who frequently protests in front of foreign embassies against plastic imports into Indonesia after seeing villages in his neighbourhood turn into a ‘global trash can’.

Moved by the growing crisis and the lack of responses to address it, Robi and Prigi collect evidence about the extent of plastic pollution. They travel across Indonesia’s island of Java, meet with experts, activists, and conduct research – including on themselves – to understand what the impact of plastic is, on our environment, and on our health. 

Once they reach the capital city of Jakarta, Robi and Prigi join forces with Tiza Mafira, a young lawyer who has dedicated her career to lobbying public officials and the private sector to develop policies to address single-use plastic pollution. 

The characters find humour in the dirtiest places, and discover there is hope for the future – but only if everyone can come together and reduce our dependence on single use plastic.