The Coconut Revolution

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The Coconut Revolution
Coconutrevolution-pic.jpg
Directed by Dom Rotheroe
Produced by Michael Chamberlain
Distributed byStampede
Release date
  • 2001 (2001)
Running time
50 min
Country United Kingdom
Language English

The Coconut Revolution is a 2001 multi-award winning documentary film about the struggle of the indigenous peoples of Bougainville Island during the Bougainville Civil War. The movement is described as the "world's first successful eco-revolution" and has drawn parallels with the conflict depicted in the 2009 film, Avatar . [1]

Contents

Overview

The movie tells the story of the successful uprising of the indigenous peoples of Bougainville Island against the Papua New Guinea army and the mining plans of the mining corporation Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ) to exploit their natural resources. The documentary reveals how the Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) managed to overcome the marine blockade strategy used by the Papuan army by using coconut oil as fuel for their vehicles. [2] [3] [4] [5]

It received funding from the Open Society Foundations, which thence became the Sundance Film Fund.

Awards

Awards attributed to this documentary include:

Winner

Runner-up

See also

Related Research Articles

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Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and its offshore islands in Melanesia. It shares its only land border with Indonesia to the west and it is directly adjacent to Australia to the south and the Solomon Islands to the east. Its capital, located along its southeastern coast, is Port Moresby. The country is the world's third largest island country, with an area of 462,840 km2 (178,700 sq mi).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autonomous Region of Bougainville</span> Autonomous region of Papua New Guinea

Bougainville, officially the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, is an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea. The largest island is Bougainville Island, while the region also includes Buka Island and a number of outlying islands and atolls. The current capital is Buka, situated on Buka Island.

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Bougainville Island is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. Its land area is 9,300 km2 (3,600 sq mi). The population of the whole province, including nearby islets such as the Carterets, is approximately 300,000. The highest point is Mount Balbi, on the main island, at 2,715 m (8,907 ft).

The Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) was a secessionist group formed in 1988 by Bougainvilleans seeking independence from Papua New Guinea (PNG). The leader of the BRA was Francis Ona who led the BRA against the Papua New Guinea Defence Force during the violent 10 year conflict. Not all BRA members agreed to the Peace Treaty and boycotted it, and have held out in an official no-go zone, protected by members of the Meekamui Defence Force, currently commanded by Moses Pepino.

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The Panguna mine is a large copper mine located in Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Panguna represents one of the largest copper reserves in Papua New Guinea and in the world, having an estimated reserve of one billion tonnes of ore copper and twelve million ounces of gold. The mine has been closed since 1989 and has ceased all production.

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Takuu is a Polynesian language from the Ellicean group spoken on the atoll of Takuu, near Bougainville Island. It is very closely related to Nukumanu and Nukuria from Papua New Guinea and to Ontong Java and Sikaiana from Solomon Islands.

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References

  1. Babcock, Jay (12 January 2010). "REAL-LIFE "AVATAR" 1-3". Arthur . Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  2. ecolodave (15 March 2015). "The Coconut Revolution (TV Movie 2000)". IMDb. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  3. "Journeyman Pictures : documentaries : The Coconut Revolution" . Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  4. "El ciclo Zine Txiroa proyecta hoy el documental 'La revolución de los cocos". 20 May 2009. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  5. "The Coconut Revolution" . Retrieved 15 March 2015.