Strange Birds in Paradise - A West Papuan Story

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: Donny a recent exile to Australia, Jacob a former child soldier in the West Papuan Resistance Movement and Charlie Hill-Smith an Australian filmmaker who has formed close friendships with Melanesian & Javanese families he met as an exchange student.

Afloat in an extraordinary musical tradition from the West Papuan highlands, hearing stories of escape, oppression and exile from Jacob and Donny, listening to the defiant songs of murdered musician and independence hero Arnold Ap, Charlie confronts a basic question: how could these two vibrant cultures be at war and how can the rest of the world seemingly not care?

This film is his search for an answer.

This is a joint event organised by Amnesty International, the Indonesian Human Rights Committee and the AUT Pacific Media Centre.

Join us in the foyer for nibbles & drinks from 6pm onwards, learn more about the Human Rights issues affecting Papua and take action on behalf of Papuan activist Filep Karma, imprisoned in 2004 for raising the Morning Star flag.