Unram Rectorate Disbands Screening of Pig Party Film

A joint viewing event (nobar) of the film Pig Party, organised by several student groups near the PKM Building at the University of Mataram (Unram) on Thursday night, 7 May 2026, was disbanded by campus authorities. Dozens of campus security personnel stood in front of the screen and covered the projector that had been set up by the organising committee.

Student leaders from the organising committee briefly argued with Unram’s academic bureau staff. They questioned the campus’s reasons for prohibiting the screening of the documentary film by director Dhandy Dwi Laksono.

Unram’s Vice Rector III, Sujita, then arrived to meet the students. She firmly stated that the screening was not permitted. “There are no reasons, just simply it’s not allowed to watch,” said Sujita, which was met with shouts from hundreds of gathered students.

Sujita admitted to having watched the film that has been widely discussed recently. According to her, the film’s content was inappropriate for screening in the campus environment. “Its content discredits the Republic of Indonesia government. I’ve watched it. It’s up to your views, but clearly its content insults my country,” she stated.

The organising committee then asked Sujita to deliver the reasons for the ban via loudspeaker so the crowd could hear. In her statement, Sujita said the decision was made to maintain campus conduciveness. “Unram rejects it for the sake of conduciveness. This film is not good to watch. It’s better if we watch football together,” she said, which was again met with shouts from the students.

Sujita denied any intimidation in the decision. “There’s no pressure, I’m just carrying out orders,” she said. However, when pressed about who gave the orders, she refused to elaborate further.

This ban triggered disappointment among the students. They shouted slogans such as “Unram is anti-democracy” and “Papua is not empty land”.

Kova, a student from Papua who was one of the organisers, expressed his disappointment over the campus’s actions, which he viewed as limiting democratic space. “We’ll find another place for the nobar later. This film is not just for Papua. Because we are part of Indonesia, the entire community also needs to know,” said Kova.

Not far from the disbandment location, about 50 metres outside the campus wall, the film screening continued at a cafe. Hundreds of viewers, mostly students, watched the film to the end and followed it with a discussion.

Previously, on Saturday, 25 April 2026, the screening of Pig Party at Mandalika Education University (Undikma) in Mataram was also disbanded just minutes after it started. Meanwhile, the screening of the same film at Gunung Rinjani University (UGR) on 2 May 2026 proceeded smoothly without prohibition, with hundreds of viewers watching the 90-minute film to completion.