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Black Harvest

Screening: Monday 12 June, 6:30pm

Australia
1992

Directors: Robin Anderson and Bob Connolly

90 min
16 mm

The third film of the renowned trilogy on Papua New Guinea joins First Contact and Joe Leahy's Neighbours (page 91) in our collection. This film charts the progress of Joe in convincing the Ganiga tribespeople to join him in a coffee growing venture. He is to provide the money and the expertise; they are to supply the land and the labor. He stands to make 60%; the tribespeople 40%. Tribal wars and the drop in coffee prices on the world market conspire to defeat the venture. Always suspect because of his mixed-race status, Joe is in deep trouble with the tribespeople when his promises of riches fail to materialize. As he organizes to emigrate with his family to Australia, he is a saddened man with an uncertain future.

"...a documentary of extraordi- nary historical resonance... so rich that watching it feels like taking an inspired crash course in economics and cultural anthropology." - The New York Times

"With the scale and richness of classical tragedy... the movie records and the downfall of a man caught between two cultures." - Newsweek

Awards: Grand Prix, Yamagata International Documentary Festival, 1993 ; Audience Award, Amsterdam Documentary Film Festival, 1992; Grand Prix, Cinema du Reel, 1992

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