Interview with Bonny Lanny, a West Papuan filmmaker

My name is Bonny Lanny.

I work with Papuan Voices Wamena.

The first film I ever made was in my hometown in Wamena.

I made a video clip of some Christian, indigenous songs

called Ala Nubruk in 2014.

Sorry, actually, I made my first film in 2011.

It was more like a video clip.

I only started documentaries when I joined Papuan Voices.

In terms of documentary videos for Papuan Voices Wamena,

my first video was a report for Forum Masyarakat Jayawijaya,

denouncing the creation of a military building in Wamena.

I was also involved in that movement.

I documented photos, filmed demonstrations and

my friends' activities, and I compiled it into a video report.

At first, I made films without any professional training.

I made them spontaneously, according to my own plan.

I would put this here, put words in that picture, and so on.

But after I joined Papuan Voices, I started to understand

the steps we need to take – like writing a script first

– and all sorts of other techniques.

In Papua, there is a delay of information and technology.

In this situation, we need to act slowly, step-by-step.

If we want to affect change quickly, it becomes harder.

Now, we have so many Papuan children studying abroad,

but very few who study music or film.

They mostly apply for Law, Economics or IT,

which have no links to this kind work.

So it is only us who understand the situation.

This is why we try to teach our brothers and sisters,

based on our own experience.

We pass on the most important lessons to them.

I once attended a screening at the University Negeri Jakarta.

I played several videos there.

I played one film about Freeport (the mining company).

At the time, many indigenous people held a demonstration

and kidnapped a Freeport employee.

They were shot by the police.

At the university screening, I realised that people in Jakarta

didn't know anything about the situation in Papua.

They believe that Papua is a rich country

and that everyone in Papua lives in luxury,

especially the seven tribes

that get yearly donations from Freeport.

They think Papuans must be really wealthy,

have fancy houses and cars – that sort of thing.

But they think this way

because Freeport broadcasts their own information

and only presents the good things.

All of the bad things that happened to ordinary people,

they don't expose that.

The audience even asked me,

"So how about you? You must be really successful, right?"

I said, "Are you kidding? I make a living as an ojek driver."

I think the use of film is very suitable, because nowadays,

most of the younger generation doesn't read much,

let alone the ones who don't have a higher education

or have dropped out of school.

If someone drops out, they don't usually read books

but they like to watch movies.

People like to watch movies about an issue

and they quickly understand it.

The influence is much stronger than reading books.

It's slower with books because

the enthusiasm for reading is quite low.