Culture and Coexistence into the Great Unknown
The Sacred Land Film Project captured a revival of a canoe ceremony with feasting, dancing and carving, honoring their sacred Ramu River. The region is part of the third largest intact rainforest ecosystem left on earth, where sustainable agriculture and forestry practices have allowed societies to thrive for thousands of years, now threatened by multinational logging interests and corrupt governmental entities.
Crocodiles feature in the legends and rites of passage of various Sepik tribes, sharing a belief in ancestral ties to the aquatic reptile. Risks from mining in the upper river threatens the health of the people of the basin.
A documentary from David Fedele allows Papua New Guinean villagers to tell their own story of broken promises and destruction from Malaysian companies logging of their forests.