What role does filmmaking have in the Planetary Emergency? Beyond the Screen, stories of Deforestation, Cross-Cultural Collaborations & Penan Resistance in Sarawak, Malaysia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13133/2532-6562/17923Keywords:
planetary emergency, activism, filmmakingAbstract
We are in a Planetary Emergency and as we face threats to survival this article asks, what role filmmaking and cross-cultural collaborations can have in sustaining futures? In what has been described as “the greatest environmental tragedy of our time” (Brown 2011), this article delves into the last forty years of deforestation and the acts of resistance in Sarawak, Malaysia. For the last ten years I have been collaborating as an artist/activist/friend with Mutang Tu’o and Penan communities, and this article attempts to articulate the questions and propositions that have emerged from my experience and research. As a filmmaker, I share the vulnerabilities about my own practice. As an audience member, I reflect on the extensive documentation of the Sarawak Campaign. As a soul, I tell the story about what I learnt about the land when living with nomads. I question the impact of awareness-building, the role of heroes, and feel the limits of focusing on the mediascape whilst the landscape is destroyed in front of our eyes. A Call to Action.
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