A world premiere of a new documentary revealing the devastation of rainforests in the southeastern part of West Papua is one of two films being screened in Aotearoa New Zealand next month.

Billed as “Sinéma Merdeka: Stories from West Papua”, the programme is showing the heart of a hidden Pacific conflict and will be presented live by celebrated Papuan journalist and Jubi News founder Victor Mambor.

The two films being featured are Pesta Babi — Colonialism in Our Time and Sa Punya Nama Pengungsi (My name is Pengungsi).

Pesta Babi (The Pig Party), directed by Cypri Dale and Dandhy Laksono, is being premiered at the Academy Cinema, Auckland CBD (below Auckland Public Library), at 6pm on Saturday, March 7.

Victor will also be featured at an APMN-hosted event, "Kōrero with "Victor Mambor - West Papua: Journalism as Resistance" at the Whanau Community Centre and Hub, 165 Stoddard Rd, Mt Roskill (next to Harvey Norman), on Monday, March 9, where he will talk candidly on journalism under pressure in the Indonesian-ruled Melanesian region.

Filmed under siege and a draconian media ban, the Pesta Babi filmmakers offer a rare and
urgent glimpse into indigenous life in Merauke, where Indonesian bulldozers have been systematically destroying their pristine rainforest home.

This film is co-produced by Jubi, Ekspedisi Indonesia Baru, Greenpeace, Yayasan Pusaka, and Watchdoc Documentary.

The second film, “Sa Punya Nama Pengungsi”, directed by Yuliana Lantipo is set against the backdrop of escalating government violence and the displacement of an estimated 100,000 Indigenous Melanesian people from their lands.

My name is Pengungsi is centred on the story of two Papuan children born in the midst of the conflict. Both are named “Pengungsi”, which in English means “Refugee”.

Films talanoa
The films will be followed by a Q&A/Talanoa with Mambor and film director Dandhy Laksono, and hosted by Dr David Robie, editor of Asia Pacific Report and deputy chair of the Asia Pacific Media Network (APMN).

“These films give a powerful insight into the hidden occupation and oppression inside West Papua which all people in Aotearoa need to see to understand what our neighbours are enduring,” said organiser Catherine Delahunty.

The twin-film festival is part of a weekend West Papua Solidarity Forum programme at the Auckland University Old Choral Hall, 7 Symonds Street, on Saturday, March 7, and on Sunday, March 8, at the Taro Patch, Papatoetoe.

West Papua is the western half of New Guinea island and has been occupied by Indonesia since 1963. The independent state of Papua New Guinea is the eastern half.

Organisers of the film screenings are West Papua Action Tāmaki Makaurau. The group notes that more than 500,000 civilians have been killed in a slow genocide against the indigenous population, according to human rights agencies.

Basic human rights such as freedom of speech are denied and Papuans live in a constant state of fear and intimidation.

Foreign journalists have generally been barred entrance.

Traditional ways of life are under threat as huge tracts of rainforest are cut down to make way for Indonesian palm oil and food estates, the world’s largest gold mine and ever-increasing transmigration from Indonesia, making Indigenous Papuans a minority in their own land.