EngageMedia, in collaboration with Papuan Voices will be screening films from Papua in six major cities in Java island – Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Solo, Salatiga, and Semarang – during 17-26 November 2018

EngageMedia, in collaboration with Papuan Voices and several other communities in six major cities in Java,–Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta, Solo, Salatiga, and Semarang–will be screening films from Papua on 17-26 November 2018. These are award-winning films created by Papuan youths, that were showcased in Papuan Film Festivals and deal with social issues such as education, health, food security, and gender equality. The selected films highlight the problems that occur every day in Papua, and various stories about Papuans all over  Indonesia.

The purpose of this event is to bring important issues in Papua closer to the general public in Indonesia, especially to those who reside in Java. Because of the lack of information, people outside Papua usually develop a false impression of issues and problems that occur in Papua, which result in a skepticism towards the Papuans. Generally, the people outside Papua do not get first-hand accounts from Papuans on issues and problems that are highlighted in the mainstream media.

Since 2010, EngageMedia and the Papuan Voices community have been collaborating in arranging training programs in Papua to teach film-making to local youths. In 2017, the Papuan Voices community was successful in hosting the Papuan Film Festival in Merauke, the first independent film festival held in Papua.

The Papua Film Festival is considered as a benchmark for the film movement in Papua. Documentary films that were screened during the festival encouraged young Papuan filmmakers to continue making films that show their struggles as a people. The storytelling tradition of the Papuan indigenous community helps those who were able to watch these documentary films to share its stories to wider and more remote communities. This builds awareness among the communities towards a variety of past and the present events in a dialectical process. It contributes to the collective effort of discussing civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of the indigenous peoples in Papua; and helps initiate a movement towards environmental sustainability for future generations.

The 2nd Papuan Film Festival was held in August this year in Jayapura, Papua. Setting the theme as “Indigenous Papuans struggling in the face of modernisation”, the festival aims to increase public awareness of the critical issues faced by indigenous Papuans, and emphasise their role on the economic and infrastructural developments in the Papuan region.

Papuan Voices consists of Papuan film-maker communities from different regions in Papua, namely Jayapura, Keerom, Wamena, Merauke, Sorong, and Raja Ampat. The community aims to produce and screen short documentaries about the Papuan region and its people.

Through these documentaries, these film-makers hope that their audience, inside and outside Papua, will be able to see them and their fellow Papuans through their eyes. It is anticipated that by watching these films, people in the Java will be able to look at Papuans from a new perspective, eliminating skepticism and encourage the audience to learn more about them and their culture.

The schedule of our screening across the six cities in Java:

  • Jakarta: 17 November 2018
  • Bandung: 19 November 2018
  • Yogyakarta: 20 and 21 November 2018
  • Semarang : 24 November 2018
  • Solo : 25 November 2018
  • Salatiga : 26 November 2018

You can find the synopsis of some of the films to be screened at the roadshow here.

Please follow the websites of Papuan Voices and EngageMedia, and our Twitter and Facebook accounts. For more information, please contact Pitra Hutomo at pitra (AT) engagemedia.org.

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