Officials tried to silence Papua film Pesta Babi. It drew millions of views on YouTube instead

JAKARTA – A documentary that the Indonesian authorities tried to silence has been watched more than six million times on YouTube in just three days.

Film-makers uploaded Pesta Babi: Kolonialisme Di Zaman Kita (Pig Feast: Colonialism In Our Time) on May 22 following a wave of disrupted screenings across Indonesia.

For many observers, it was a textbook Streisand effect: The harder officials tried to suppress it, the louder it became.

The film has drawn widespread debate over Papua, censorship and development – and, for critics of the government, has raised uncomfortable questions about Indonesia’s tolerance for dissent on one of its most politically sensitive issues.

The 96-minute documentary is directed by journalist Dandhy Laksono and anthropologist Cypri Dale. It examines large-scale food estate and bioethanol projects in South Papua, arguing that they threaten indigenous land rights, forests and traditional livelihoods.

It was initially circulated through campus screenings and community discussions earlier in May before backlash over its use of the term “colonialism” and its portrayal of state-backed projects drew the attention of the local authorities, university administrators and military officers.

A day after Pesta Babi was made available online, Mr Dandhy, in an Instagram post, thanked supporters of the film who had turned “every inch of land into a cinema” despite what he said was “pressure and intimidation” surrounding screenings of the controversial Papua documentary.

Organisers and rights groups said screenings were disrupted or cancelled in several cities, including Ternate in North Maluku, Mataram in West Nusa Tenggara, and Bandung in West Java.

They said objections came from the local authorities, university administrators, military officers and community groups, who argued that the documentary was provocative, lacked proper censorship clearance or could inflame tensions over Papua.

Papua remains one of Indonesia’s most politically sensitive regions, where issues involving development, security, indigenous rights and natural resources have long drawn debate.

Screenings disrupted across cities

One screening at the University of Mataram on May 7 was halted after deputy rector Sujita reportedly said the film was not suitable for students. “This film is not good to watch. It’s better to watch football together,” Dr Sujita was quoted as saying by local media.

In Ternate, North Maluku, organisers said a screening on May 8 was forcibly dispersed by soldiers after complaints circulated online accusing the documentary of promoting anti-government narratives.

Lieutenant-Colonel Jani Setiadi, commander of the 1501/Ternate Military District Command, defended the move, saying the film was viewed by many online as provocative.

“This is not my personal opinion. If you do not believe me, I can show you many comments on social media saying the film is provocative,” he told reporters in Ternate on May 8.

However, the Ternate incident was not an isolated one. Rights groups have since alleged a broader pattern of intimidation surrounding screenings in multiple cities.

In a May 22 statement, Amnesty International Indonesia said the disruptions surrounding Pesta Babi reflected broader attempts to suppress critical discussion about Papua and restrict public access to information on alleged environmental destruction and indigenous land issues in the region.

“The series of bans and forced dispersals of screenings of Pesta Babi in several regions of Indonesia not only show an anti-criticism attitude, but also efforts to conceal alternative information exposing systematic human rights and environmental violations in Papua,” Amnesty International Indonesia executive director Usman Hamid said.

“Forms of intimidation ranging from intelligence surveillance and terror against organisers, to forced dispersals show that cultural and knowledge spaces are being surrounded by fear and silencing,” he added.

The film has gained significant traction online in Indonesia, amassing more than 29,000 comments on YouTube as at May 26, as debates over Papua, censorship and state power spilt onto social media.

“Finally I can watch this here. I became curious from the very first screenings,” wrote user @jejeaudy4176 in a comment posted a day after the documentary was uploaded, adding that an earlier planned community screening in their area was cancelled.

No official ban

The Indonesian government has denied ordering any formal ban on the documentary.

Coordinating Minister for Law, Human Rights, Immigration and Corrections Yusril Ihza Mahendra said the pattern of cancellations suggested there had been no centralised government directive to stop screenings. He noted that the film had still been shown in other campuses and cities without issue.

“Not all campuses prohibited screenings of the documentary,” Mr Yusril said on May 14, citing campuses in Bandung and Sukabumi where screenings proceeded normally.

He added that some disruptions were linked to “administrative procedural issues” – but did not specify what requirements, if any, were not met by organisers.

At the same time, Mr Yusril acknowledged that the documentary’s framing and title were intentionally provocative. The phrase “colonialism in our time” has drawn particular backlash for implying that state-backed projects in Papua resembled modern colonialism.

He said the government rejected comparisons between national strategic projects in Papua and colonialism, but stressed that criticism itself was legitimate in a democracy. Indonesia has framed the projects as part of broader efforts to improve food and energy security, create jobs, and raise living standards in Papua and other parts of eastern Indonesia.

“I consider such criticism to be quite normal, although there is indeed a provocative narrative,” he said. “Let the public watch, and afterward, feel free to hold discussions and debates.”

House Speaker Puan Maharani, a senior figure from the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), also described the film’s title and content as “sensitive”, though she said Parliament would seek clarification before taking any position.

But Puan Maharani’s mother – former president Megawati Soekarnoputri, who is also PDI-P chairwoman – struck a different tone after watching the documentary.

“I cried yesterday watching Pesta Babi. That is the reality,” she said during a forum at Gadjah Mada University, a leading Indonesian public university, on May 22.

She criticised environmental destruction and the clearing of forests for plantations, saying indigenous customs and land rights in Papua deserved respect.

The Alliance of Independent Journalists condemned the dispersal of screenings in Ternate, saying public discussions and film screenings should not be met with intimidation or security interventions.

Academic Kamaruzzaman Bustamam Ahmad from Ar-Raniry State Islamic University said attempts to suppress the documentary had instead given it “something no marketing budget could buy: national notoriety”.

In a May 24 commentary published by Indonesian online news portal KBA News, he said that attempts to suppress the film had “turned a limited-distribution documentary into a nationwide conversation” about Papua, censorship and state power.