Forgotten Bird of Paradise
Encyclopedia
Forgotten Bird of Paradise is a 2009 documentary film
produced by British filmmaker Dominic Brown, about the Papua conflict
. The film was shot undercover, and includes interviews with human rights victims and political prisoners, as well as footage of rebels in their jungle stronghold.
n authorities, putting himself in great danger. Brown reflected that on West Papua that the situation was "like apartheid", and likened the transmigration program
and anti-secession policies to "genocide
".
as a prisoner of conscience. He is currently serving a ten year prison sentence for raising the West Papuan flag during a ceremony in 2004. The interview was recorded in secret by Brown during a hospital visit where Pakage was receiving treatment for torture.
There is also footage providing viewers with an insight into recent developments on the international arena towards West Papuan self-determination, including the launch of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua
.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
produced by British filmmaker Dominic Brown, about the Papua conflict
Papua Conflict
The Papua conflict is an ethnic separatist insurgency in Indonesia, predominantly in the Papua and West Papua provinces on the island of New Guinea. Since the withdrawal of the Dutch colonizers in 1963, the militant Free Papua Movement organization has conducted a low-level campaign of attacks on...
. The film was shot undercover, and includes interviews with human rights victims and political prisoners, as well as footage of rebels in their jungle stronghold.
Production
Brown travelled and filmed in West Papua without the permission of the IndonesiaIndonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n authorities, putting himself in great danger. Brown reflected that on West Papua that the situation was "like apartheid", and likened the transmigration program
Transmigration program
The transmigration program was an initiative of the Dutch colonial government, and later continued by Indonesian government to move landless people from densely populated areas of Indonesia to less populous areas of the country...
and anti-secession policies to "genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
".
Content
The documentary features an interview conducted with Yusak Pakage, a high profile West Papuan political prisoner recognised by Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
as a prisoner of conscience. He is currently serving a ten year prison sentence for raising the West Papuan flag during a ceremony in 2004. The interview was recorded in secret by Brown during a hospital visit where Pakage was receiving treatment for torture.
There is also footage providing viewers with an insight into recent developments on the international arena towards West Papuan self-determination, including the launch of the International Parliamentarians for West Papua
International Parliamentarians for West Papua
The International Parliamentarians for West Papua are a cross-party political group of politicians from around the world who support self-determination for the people of West Papua.-History:...
.
Television
- BBC Newsnight, UK (12 minute feature) - March 2009
- ABC News, Australia (7 minute report) - September 2009
- Channel 4 News, UK (short segment used for report on West Papua) - October 2010
Home media
- The documentary was included in the 'Best of 17th Raindance Film Festival Shorts' DVD, released in October 2010