Pastoral Centre's Explanation on the Cancellation of the Pig Feast Film Screening
The Pastoral Centre for Students in the Special Region of Yogyakarta has cancelled the screening of the film “Pig Feast: Colonialism in Our Time”, directed by Dandhy D. Laksono and Cypri Dale, citing the prioritisation of precautionary principles.
The Chairman of the Student Apostolate Commission, which oversees the Pastoral Centre for Students in DIY, Father Agustinus Daryanto, stated that he had asked the organising committee to postpone the event. The reason was that the Centre needed to discuss the matter with higher authorities. The cause was that the event posed security risks to the Pastoral Centre for Students and the student community active there at the same time.
“We are prioritising the precautionary principle and preparing a security system with the organisers, which cannot be done in a short time,” Agustinus said via email to Tempo on Thursday, 30 April 2026.
Agustinus explained the chronology of the venue rental request by the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute. The Pastoral Centre for Students received a letter numbered 03.71/LBH-YK/IV/2026 regarding the venue rental request (Pendopo Pastoral Centre for Students) on 22 April 2026. The rental was for a group screening of the film “Pig Feast” scheduled for Saturday, 25 April 2026.
Subsequently, the Centre’s administration asked the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute to complete the rental requirements by filling out a Google form for venue booking. Filling out the Google form does not automatically grant permission.
The venue rental request letter had not yet received official approval from Agustinus. On Friday, 24 April 2026, Father Agustinus Daryanto received information about a flyer for the “Group Screening of Pig Feast Film” event uploaded on the Instagram account of the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute, listing the PPM DIY as the venue.
“I, who had not previously known about the venue rental request letter, then confirmed with the organisers,” he said.
Previously, legal aid staff from the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute, Wetub Toatubun, said the committee had initially scheduled the screening of the Pig Feast film for Saturday afternoon, 25 April 2026, at the Pendopo of the Pastoral Centre for Students in the Special Region of Yogyakarta.
However, on Saturday morning, the Pastoral Centre for Students cancelled the event citing its sensitive nature. Wetub heard that the Centre had previously received a phone call from a group of people from a certain community organisation and police members.
Wetub did not specify the identities of the community organisation and police officers. “The accusation is that the film and event discuss separatist movements,” Wetub said when contacted on Sunday, 26 April 2026.
Wetub noted that the committee had submitted a venue rental request letter to the Pastoral Centre two days before the event. The committee had followed the venue rental procedures as per the Pastoral Centre for Students’ regulations, including a letter, registration form, and photocopy of identity cards.
The Legal Aid Institute had also submitted a notification letter to the local police regarding the planned screening. But suddenly, the Pastoral Centre cancelled it.
In addition to screening the film, the committee, which included the Yogyakarta Legal Aid Institute and the Organising Institute, planned to hold a discussion inviting researcher Made Supriatma from the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies-Yusof Ishak Institute and Laksmi Savitri Mahrus from Pusaka Bentala as speakers. Besides the discussion, the committee prepared an exhibition, mural, political oration, T-shirt printing, and local food.