Matching words with visuals Gattoni’s compelling presentation, shot along 7,000 kilometers of coastline from Mauritania to Cameroon, is aptly titled, ‘Ocean Rage: West Africa is being swallowed by the sea.’

 

Along parts of West Africa’s shoreline, coastal erosion is advancing at rates of up to 36 metres per year in some areas. This accelerating erosion along with rising sea levels is resulting in the displacement of tens of millions of people. Entire coastal villages are being abandoned, as traditional fishing communities in countries such as Ghana and Togo have turned into ghost towns within just two decades.

 

Having worked on issues related to climate change for 10 years, Gattoni travelled to Ghana in 2016. “Nothing could prepare me for what I was about to witness,” Gattoni said, expressing the anguish she witnessed during the filming process. “Rising temperatures have caused the migration of fish stocks, starving local fishermen, while erosion and salinisation reduce arable land and contaminate fresh water reserves.”


The crisis is not limited to environmental damage; it has led to the loss of homes, churches, farmland, and entire community infrastructures, erasing centuries-old coastal ways of life.


Gattoni’s documentary delves deep into the lives of people living in these areas who are facing extreme vulnerability, displacement, and ecological loss. One powerful image after the other we see how the sea is moving in, destroying livelihoods, cultural heritage, and social fabric of entire communities. Accompanied by the relentless sound of waves uprooting trees, the sea swallows homes, contaminates water wells ,and destroys electric lines.

 

“In a world where progress is synonymous with urbanisation and consumerism, traditional communities are being systematically sacrificed, on the altar of modernity,” said the French-Italian documentary photographer.

 

Gattoni, whose photography has appeared in over one hundred international media outlets, including TIME Magazine, The New York Times, and National Geographic, quotes a villager she interviewed whose painful words linger on, even after the screen fades to black: “Every time I go to sleep, I know it may be my last time as the waves may take me away. I am very afraid for the future of this place, sooner or later we will have to leave. But we have nowhere to go.”


Organised by the Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), the 10th edition of Xposure 2026 taking place from January 29 to February 4 is led by an international gathering of more than 420 photographers, filmmakers, and visual artists from over 60 countries.