Pig Feast, Sweet Potato Roast

A film, even if documentary, still needs a jolt sociologically to attract the audience’s attention to watch it. This phenomenon almost always occurs among filmmakers, whatever the type, not just in commercial films like Santet Segoro Pitu, for example, which from its title alone can pique people’s curiosity to come and watch. The same applies to documentary films like Sexy Killers, which raises the issue of coal mining, or Ice Cold: Murder, Coffee and Jessica Wongso about the Jessica Wongso case, where provocative titles and issues serve as entry points for public attention. I think something similar happens with Pesta Babi, which, if I may read it, is actually like ‘Pesta Bakar Ubi’, a distinctive style of Dandhy Laksono’s films that deliberately presents surprises to make people stop, look, and then talk about it. Initially, this film might not have attracted much attention, but when offered through a free group viewing concept requiring just 15 people to gather, suddenly a new sensation emerged that made people curious. Especially with its stirring title, Pesta Babi, so many people started searching for and discussing it: is its content really about a pig feast as many people imagine? Therefore, anyone who wants to review or give an assessment should watch the film first. Do not rush to opine or build assumptions before truly seeing the film’s content. This film shows how customary forests are opened for bioethanol interests and large-scale food security, which ultimately gives rise to a sense of loss of living space and alienation of communities from their own ancestral lands. In that situation, parts of the community carry out symbolic resistance by erecting ‘red crosses’ as a form of rejection against the entry of companies and land control that is considered to threaten their livelihood and cultural identity. With a duration of about 95 minutes, the film Pesta Babi also spotlights allegations of militarisation in securing various investment projects taking place in the Papua region. On the other hand, the term Pesta Babi itself is not just a provocative title, but literally refers to the cultural tradition of the indigenous Papuans, especially the Muyu community, through a major customary ritual called Awon Atatbon. Pigs hold important meaning as a symbol of social ties, brotherhood, and cultural identity in the life of indigenous communities. That tradition is a culture of how they preserve the forests, even the natural environment in Papua as their ‘dining table’.