Strange Birds in Paradise - West Papua Movie At Festival

While the Indonesian army continues to dominate the indigenous inhabitants of West Papua, three friends gather in Melbourne to record outlawed folk songs with renowned Australian rock musicologist David Bridie.

This compelling Australian documentary Strange Birds in Paradise had its world premiere at the International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam (IDFA) 2009.

A richly textured journey into the secret life of West Papua, Strange Birds in Paradise paints a fascinating picture of music, culture and repression from one of the last great wildernesses on earth.

Melbourne animators strived to re-imagine stories of flight and battle, whilst artists in Java helped create iconic characters from Indonesian mythology as shadow puppets.

With a long held, deep affection for Indonesia, its culture and people, director Charlie Hill-Smith, was fascinated by the tales of exile that he heard from West Papuan refugees in Australia and decided to return to West Papua to find out more about this hidden land – aided by a fluent command of their language. What he discovered was an extraordinary story of an imaginative, adaptable culture confronting tyranny with the joyful power of art, music and self-expression. Charlie records the fate of West Papuans trying to maintain village life whilst adapting to the Indonesian economy. He visits the battered, pitiful resistance and the refugee camps along the Papua New Guinean border.

Journalists and filmmakers have been banned from West Papua for many years. Strange Birds In Paradise offers a rare view into this beautiful but tragic place.

“The Indonesian army and ‘old-power’ in Jakarta don’t want this story to be told. They run West Papua as a personal fiefdom, stripping the forests and the gold and the oil. The powers-that-be want to keep this window closed to the outside world,” observed Hill-Smith.

Ultimately, Charlie is inspired to blend his own journey of discovery and adventure to film an inspiring concert at Melbourne’s Hamer Hall (included in the documentary). A moving tribute that brings together the exiled community in Australia for a moment of defiant celebration and joy through their unique blend of music, dance and enormous courage.

To sample the glorious music within Strange Birds in Paradise, listen to George Telek’s West Papua -Merdeka Mix, (Freedom Mix), featuring Ngaiire, music clip directed by Charlie Hill-Smith:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvTHpJk8r6M
View the trailer on the official website at:
http://www.strangebirds.com.au/

Screening Dates NZ : Auckland 17, 18 & 19 July – Wellington 22 & 24 July
ENDS

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