Pig Feast – documenting deforestation and the front lines of resistance in Papua
Indonesia: The film “Pig Feast” is a shocking documentary of the largest rainforest destruction of our time, ordered by the Indonesian government and enforced by the military. But Indigenous Papuans are putting up staunch resistance.
More than 14 million views since May 2026:
Watch “Pig Feast” online
PESTA BABI: Colonialism in Our Time – (official full movie)
96 minutes, in Indonesian with English subtitles
“Pig Feast” (Pesta Babi) is a documentary about the rapid destruction of Papua’s forests. The Indonesian government is carving vast plantations out of the region, with no regard for nature or the ancestral lands of Indigenous Papuans. While rice is being planted, the main crops are sugarcane for bioethanol and oil palms for biodiesel. This is the world’s largest deforestation project – all for supposedly renewable fuel.
Made by the renowned documentary filmmakers at WatchDoc in collaboration with our partners Pusaka, Jubi, Greenpeace, and Ekspedisi Indonesia Baru, the film is unsettling. It lays bare the brutality and speed of these state-directed projects. It shows Indonesia acting as a colonial power, taking what it wants, as it sees fit. After 60 years of oppression and exploitation, the state is opening a new chapter: Thousands of soldiers have been deployed to Papua to enforce forest destruction, land theft, and the eradication of Indigenous ways of life.
Indigenous Papuans are standing their ground. They mark the boundaries of their territories with towering red crosses. They stand in the path of 2,000 excavators, declaring “Papua is not empty land!” They then celebrate the pig feast, a sacred tradition that embodies unity, belonging, Indigenous values, and respect among communities.
“Pig Feast” stirs controversy and political tensions
Until May 22, Pesta Babi was available only on request, not through public channels. According to its producers, the film was screened at 1,800 locations. In 30 cases, the military, intelligence services, or police banned screenings. Some universities were too afraid to allow them, while some cinemas refused to show the film.
The protagonist Mama Yasinta said she had changed her mind and now supports the sugar and bioethanol projects (PSN Merauke). However, Mama Yasinta has been missing since late May. Her family has been unable to reach her. They suspect that the military took her to Jakarta.
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Indonesia: Stop the destruction of Papua’s Marind forest!
Indonesia is implementing a sugar and ethanol program in southern Papua under military protection. Two million hectares of rainforest and Indigenous land are at risk.
Defending rainforests in Southeast Asia
The forests of Southeast Asia are the last refuge and habitat of orangutans, Sumatran tigers, birds of paradise and Komodo dragons.
Saving the rainforest of southern Papua and empowering Indigenous Papuans
Where birds of paradise still dance, Indigenous defenders face bulldozers in a struggle over Papua’s future. Our partner Pusaka is in the front line.
Biofuel
The use of bioethanol and biodiesel in motor vehicles is a misguided attempt to save the climate. The ugly reality is that "green" fuels are destroying rainforests, accelerating climate change and condemning millions to poverty and hunger.