BLACK HARVEST
Australien (Papua Neuguinea) 1992 – Director: Robin Anderson, Bob Connolly – Original language: English – Subtitles: English – Length: 90 min.
Black Harvest is a real-life drama about two ambitious men vying for power, of two cultures racing towards a head-on collision and of a dream that turns sour.
Against the backdrop of the Highlands of Papua New Guinea, Joe Leahy, a mixed race highlander and wealthy coffee plantation owner, joins forces with the Ganiga tribe to expand his operations. "With good prices you'll be up to your necks in money. With money you can do anything", he promises them. His greatest ally is the tribal chief, Popina Mai, a warrior and orator, who wants to lead his people quickly into the modern world. The tribal members' faith in Joe's business prowess is challenged when his promise of riches fails to materialise due to a drop in international coffee prices. Joe is caught between the demands of a white man's world and his lack of tribal status. A bloody intertribal warfare erupts on the eve of the crop harvest.
In the third part of their trilogy, Robin Anderson and Bob Connolly show the socio-economical consequences of postcolonialism in Papua New Guinea with amazing artistic achievement. Black Harvest is widely acknowledged as a classic of documentaries, almost a classical tragedy.
"...a documentary of extraordinary historical resonance... so rich that watching it feels like taking an inspired crash course in economics and cultural anthropology." (The New York Times)
Awards: Grand Prix, Cinéma du Réel, Paris 1992; Special Jury Prize, IDFA Amsterdam 1992; Grand Prix, Yamagata 1993
Supporter of BEST.DOKS 20/20
German title: Schwarze Ernte. Production: Arundel Productions Pty Ltd. Producer: Robin Anderson, Bob Connolly.
