The Deputy Mayor of Papua Rustam Saru officially inaugurated the Festival Films Papua (FFP-II)
The second Papuan independent Film Festival – Festival Films Papua (FFP-II), which was inaugurated by the Deputy Mayor of Jayapura (Wakil Walikota Jayapura) Rustam Saru on August 7, 2018, came to an end on August 9, 2017. About 400 hundred people were present during the opening session at the Expo Waena, Jayapura, Papua province, Indonesia, and about 300 people came on each of the following days.
At the closing ceremony, two films were announced as best video from a pool of ten nominated films. The First place is shared by two films –Resep Pendidikan Papua – RPP (Papuan Educational Recipe) by Yosep Levi and “Mamapolitan” by Indra Siagian. The second place was awarded to “Dipenjara (Imprisoned)“, a film by Stracky Yally and the third, “Kehidupan di Pesisir (Coastal Life)“ by Noak Sending Sada.
The event offered more activities and varieties in presentation than last year. Comparing it to the first Papuan Film Festival, that was held in Merauke, in southern Papua, last year, this time the organisers were more prepared and had more experience under their belt.
Along with the usual activists from all around Indonesia Archipelago, this time around there were diverse sections of audiences like members of the local and provincial parliaments, teachers, architect, leaders of indigenous tribes. Many of the audience members were young as students could join after school as the screenings were held from 3 PM to 9 PM. Many elder people also joined after office.
The local organiser, the local branch of Papuan Voices told us that they were getting help from a number of organisations and local NGOs, and also students from different educational institutions volunteered. With this added manpower and resources the event could be managed smoothly.
The environment was much festive during the nights because the entrance and surrounding area were packed with people hanging around stalls. There were many things available there, betel nut was quite a common product, along with different varieties of handicrafts such as bags (Noken), paintings, sweets and local foods (mostly sago based). Many visitors also were interested in the visual art booth, they took pictures for memories or just to say hello to a friend.
The chosen 10 best film from the competition were screened between 3PM – 9PM. Besides that, Papuan Voices also organized an advanced media class featruing video production and distribution at the neighbors building. Engagemedia also ran one workshop titled “Promoting Change Through Social Media”:
Happening now: #EngageMedia is facilitating a workshop at the 2nd Papuan Film Festival (#FFPII) titled "Promoting change through social media" #filmfestival #jayapura #papua #socialmedia #video4change CC: @papuan_voices pic.twitter.com/amJTCDmhFv
— EngageMedia (@EngageMedia) August 8, 2018
The theme of the festival this year was: “indigenous Papuans struggling in the face of modernization”.
A festival participant Mecky Yeimo said to local media that the films screened in the festival provided a lot of information about the land disputes between native landowners and the investors who are acquiring local land for mining and palm plantation purpose and the rights of indigenous people in Papa. He also said that the Papuans are commonly known for their culture of oral tradition, and the information in the films becomes an interesting topic to discuss in the community in the future.
