Jakarta, Ekuatorial — Five short documentaries of how Indonesia’s indigenous people struggle and sacrifice to protect their forests hit Jakarta’s Antara Gallery, March 10-18.
The screening is part of the ‘If Not Us Then Who’ campaign, a two year project aiming to communicate indigenous people’s experience in protecting forests.
“We want to tell the world that the people who are protecting the forests in the front line is the indigenous people. We’re using videos and events to try to tell the world that these people are heroes for protecting our forests.” said Paul Redman, director of Handcrafted Films, which runs the project.
The campaign itself had already begun in 2014 during climate change conferences held in New York and Lima, Peru. Besides Indonesia, the campaign also documented indigenous people stories in Brazil, Peru, and Central America.
Screened on the first day were ‘Podumaan Sipituhuta’, directed by Paul Redman, documenting on pains and struggles of indigenous people, especially women in protecting their remaining frankincense forest in North Sumatra from pulp company and ‘Masyarakat Adat di Hutan Halmahera’ [Indigenous People of Halmahera Forest] directed by Nanang Sujana, telling stories of Tobelo people striving to live amid massive illegal mining threatening the small island.
“There are 335 mining permits in Tobelo which is only a small island. They still have intact forests with various biodiversity but there’s huge mining sites in the middle of forest,” said Sujana. “It’s a small island but threats are looming and there’s not much attention [given for their welfare].”
Other documentaries are ‘Penjaga Hutan Bumi Jargaria’ [Guardian of Jargaria Forest] which shows inspiring story of a public servant, Mika Ganobal, who was launching #SaveAru campaign which stopped company’s plan to turn forest and mangroves into giant sugarcane plantation, ‘Perjuangan Untuk Didengar’ [A Struggle To Be Heard] which follows the struggle of people of Mentawai to protect their forests starting from social movement to political participation at the parliament, and ‘Dayak dan Drones’ [Dayak and Drones] tells story on how Setulang people were using technology such as GPS and drones to implement sustainable forest management.
Redman said that the type was participative. “We don’t do voice over or impose our thoughts and decisions. It’s about them. The indigenous people lead the movie, lead the narrative. We want to make it as their stories,” he said adding that making these documentaries took four to five weeks.
The campaign, he said, will also hit upcoming climate change conference, in Paris. “We want to have massive and critical understanding the struggle, understand the sacrifice from the indigenous people. There’s the same level of passion, same level of sacrifice and same level of commitment to protect forests from every indigenous people I have met. It’s heartwarming to know that people are looking out our forests but they face battles, such as threats from mining,” he said.
Beside Jakarta, the campaign, which also include photography expo and discussion, will also come to Sorong (Papua), Toraja (South Sulawesi), and Bogor (West Java). Fidelis E. Satriastanti
