Courageous Filmmaking
Vincent Paunovic and Scott Elder are two brave, young filmmakers who set out on a mission to document sorcery and its related killings in Papua New Guinea’s treacherous highlands. Travelling on the smell of an oily rag, the pair relied on their native-speaking guide and the chewing of betel nut to get by. Vincent Paunovic shares the experience of filming the documentary Accused.
In April my colleague Scott Elder and I, two amateur filmmakers on a self-funded project, headed to Papua New Guinea. Our purpose was to shoot the documentary Accused, which would document and record the background behind sorcery (sanguma) and the related killings in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The practice of sorcery is a deeply ingrained cultural belief system and is widely practiced by the majority of the 7 million native population of PNG. It is responsible for more 150 to 200 (estimated) deaths each year. Sanguma has been part of the PNG culture since pre-history. For those accused it is a ‘no win’ situation. If during the Sanguma ceremony you ‘do not’ admit to sorcery, you are absolved of the accusation. However, if you do not die from the persuasions placed upon you, you will generally be severely maimed, burnt with hot irons, fingers cut off, poisoned, or otherwise tortured.
So as a first project, tackling what was a dangerous, sensitive, and complex subject, we literally dropped ourselves in the deep end. Armed with a year’s planning, a limited budget, and determination we arrived in PNG semi-prepared for two months of logistical chaos and adrenal discomfort.
Each scenario and interview prospect had to be dealt with sensitively and with patient caution. Being outsiders, we knew we would be met with suspicion and scepticism so our first task was to find a fixer who would be able to make contact with potential interviewees. This in itself was a mission as we had to literally start from scratch to find, not just a trusted fixer but a reliable fixer who possessed unique qualities of sanguma knowledge. They also had to be able to distance themselves from the belief system and be prepared to remain with us throughout the project.
Ultimately we were rewarded with a guide named Casper Damian, a native highland Chimbu man who knew the language and traditions of the areas we intended to travel. The ‘pièce de résistance’ was that Casper had written a thesis on sorcery in the highlands, possessed a unique depth of knowledge of the complexities associated with sanguma, and was able to provide us with invaluable contacts. We hired Casper for the duration of our project where he essentially became a glorified babysitter for two 6-foot-plus ‘dimdims’ (white men). Casper ensured our approach to prospective interviews and victims to be traditional and delicate which allowed us to create good rapport with the majority of our contacts. Thankfully Casper was very understanding and aware of our limited budget. Our priority, however, was that we pay Casper fairly for his daily guidance and expenses, what was left was our production budget whose limitations inevitably meant we had to endure some very dubious travel, food, and living circumstances.
In Port Moresby, we had been advised to hire private security and a rental car, neither of which were an option on our meagre budget. So the two ‘dimdims’ set out without either which in fact worked in our favour. No hired security made us far more approachable to locals and our lack of a rental vehicle meant we had to rely on ‘public transport’, (which could on occasion be the back of an over-crowded flat deck truck, women, children, livestock, and more). Additionally, our modest means led to invitations of hospitality and accommodation by the local population.
Our kit was basic. A Canon EOS 7D and EOS 70D, tripod, and a stabilizer. Eight batteries, a computer, two hard drives, and as many CF/SD cards as we could afford. Although covered by insurance the reality was if anything had happened to our gear we weren’t going to get a new kit air-dropped in overnight, so huge fear and paranoia surrounded our gear being stolen. A fairly rational paranoia when travelling in Port Moresby and Mount Hagan which can resemble the wild west with guns and robberies rampant.
Without security, an unlikely way of keeping ourselves secure was to chew betel nut or buai (boo-eye). Betel nut comes in the form of a green nut which is found on every street corner in PNG and chewed as part of everyday life. It is a mild legal stimulant and in addition to reasons of tradition is chewed by local people for stress reduction, heightened awareness, and the suppression of hunger. Everywhere we went we were met by wide grins of brilliant red-stained teeth and lips of men and women who were chewing betel nut. Not a common practice for foreigners, so it was a case of ‘when in Rome’. Being such a social institution, by chewing betel nut we were more accepted and viewed with less scepticism, particularly by people, who under different circumstances may very well have robbed us. It definitely built bridges and we found people warmed to us fairly quickly when they saw our blood red mouths. This small but significant cultural integration allowed us in Kundiawa, a township high in the Chimbu province, to safely walk around unescorted with our gear. We put it down to betel nut!
Timekeeping and schedules were not a priority for many in PNG so meeting contacts to organize interviews and planning travel was chaotic. We found we had to adapt to the oxymoronic system of organized chaos with many of our contacts falling through. Days of journeying were often met with ‘no shows’. But the adventure that ensued and the problem solving provided by the impeccably professional Casper, as crisis after crisis was averted, often resulted in better outcomes than the original plan. The lesson to be learnt was allowing for a certain amount of ‘on-the-wing events’ to take over.
The police in PNG number 4,500 stacked up against a population of 7 million. Trying to interview the police was by far the most stressful and disappointing element to deal with. As with any nation, the police are charged ultimately with the protection of its citizens and of course that would obviously include sanguma victims. With so many deaths each year we had hoped to get the police perspective on sanguma. On the numerous times when an interview was organized with a police officer, we were met with a no-show. This would go on for days leaving us with certain despair. In the end, we covertly shot our attempts to obtain interviews. The police reluctance may be explained in that, although charged with the protection of the citizens of PNG, they themselves are affected by the entrenchment of the sanguma belief system. Many of the police have seen a great deal of violence related to sanguma coupled with their own belief in sorcery and this may explain their reluctance to talk. On meeting one sanguma victim, a woman who had been severely tortured, we felt we couldn’t abandon her and her predicament after her release from hospital. By this stage, we realized the police would be benign in helping her and called Oxfam who took on the woman’s welfare.
Many Papua New Guineans we spoke to were teachers, Christian priests, well-educated people who attested that sanguma is ‘so’. To the Papua New Guineans it is not a matter of faith or superstition, sanguma exists, as real as the nose on your face. With this kind of entrenched conviction, sanguma looks to remain as part of the PNG culture for many generations to come.
So an experience that took us to the depths of the PNG highlands forests, tribal conflicts, and coming face-to-face with the horrendous suffering by those affected by sanguma we returned to NZ in one piece, grateful. As Accused enters post-production we reflect on our hours of footage.
Revisiting our footage leaves us with excitement and gratitude for the people who were prepared to share their intimate and heartfelt stories, the hospitality and friendliness of a very special nation.
More stories can be found on http://skulduggerydopelganger.blogspot.co.nz
Accused is scheduled to be released late 2015.
