Bougainville, with a populations of only 160,000 has managed to close
and keep closed one of the biggest mines in the world. They have held
their ground for a decade with antique weapons and homemade guns. These
people have taken on the biggest mining company in the world and won.
This is an incredible modern-day story of a native peoples’ victory
over Western globalization. Sick of seeing their environment ruined and
their people exploited by the Panguna Mine, the Pacific island of
Bougainville rose up against the giant mining corporation, Rio Tinto
Zinc. The newly formed Bougainville Revolutionary Army began fighting
with bows and arrows and sticks and stones against a heavily armed
adversary. In an attempt to put down the rebellion the Papua New Guinean
Army swiftly established a gunboat blockade around the island. But
with no shipments allowed in or out, how did new electricity networks
spring up on the island? And how were the people of Bougainville able
to drive around the island without any source of petrol or diesel?
Watch as the world’s first eco-revolution unfolds within the blockade. A
David and Goliath story for the 21st century. A multi-award winning
documentary.