Sukundimi Walks Before Me
Papuan Indigenous communities mobilise to fight a planned mine on the sacred Sepik River in this stirring portrait of ecoactivism.
When an Australian mining conglomerate announces plans to build a huge copper/gold mine and toxic-waste dam on Papua New Guinea’s Sepik River, local communities fear pollution and ecological degradation. The “Amazon of the Asia Pacific” snakes for over 1100 kilometres through virgin rainforest, and is one of the few remaining large rivers in the world whose water remains drinkable. It’s also home to tens of thousands, who’ve lived along the river for millennia, drawing on it for sustenance and spiritual lore. Led by the charismatic Emmanuel Peni, these communities begin to mobilise, coming together to fight the forces of old colonial power structures, extractive economic practices, multinational lobbying and the supposed inevitability of ‘progress’.
At once an intimate study of community and a rousing work of cine-activism, this boots-on-the-ground – or canoes-on-the-water – documentary offers a regional David vs Goliath story with deep ecological repercussions. Melanesian New Zealander filmmaker Matasila Freshwater (one of the directors of Vai, MIFF 2019) and Australian documentarian Lachlan McLeod (Clean, MIFF Closing Night 2022) collaborate with community members, their cameras invited to witness conversations, meetings and planning sessions. Filled with rich cinematography, Papuan folk songs and historical newsreels, Sukundimi Walks Before Me is a vivid portrait of virtuous defiance.
“Exemplary of what feature documentary cinema does best – pulling audiences into a raw and palpable face-to-face encounter that leaves a perduring mark.” – Farrago
Directors Matasila Freshwater and Lachlan McLeod are guests of the festival and will be in attendance at both sessions of the film.
Join us at the Festival Hub at 6.15pm after the Friday 7 August screening of the film for a free discussion about working with communities to create nonfiction storytelling for change. Hear from one of the film’s producers, human rights activist Emmanuel Peni; Nicole Ma; Shannon Owen; Anthony Kelly; and Storm Bloom as we navigate ethics, process and the power of documenting social issues.
Tickets
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