Secret Screenings of ‘Pig Feast’ Documentary Held Under Cover of Anonymity
In Surakarta, Central Java, a student has resorted to clandestine methods to share a controversial documentary following reports that group screenings have been banned by university officials and soldiers in various regions.
The student, using the pseudonym Pramono, organized a private viewing of Pesta Babi: Kolonialisme di Zaman Kita (Pig Feast: Colonialism in Our Time) within a boarding-house room. To mitigate the risk of being discovered by neighborhood officials or soldiers, Pramono utilized a new Instagram account on Monday, May 11, 2026, to announce the event.
Clandestine Tactics and Limited Attendance
To maintain security, the organizer deliberately withheld the venue and a contact number from the public announcement, providing only the screening time and requiring interested parties to communicate via the platform’s messaging feature. This approach resulted in a modest gathering of 10 people, all of whom were fellow residents of the boarding house.
Reflecting on the necessity of the secrecy, Pramono stated on Friday, May 15, “We were afraid of being raided.”
The Content of the Film
The documentary is a collaborative effort among several civil society organizations. It was directed by Dandhy Dwi Laksono, a journalist known for works such as Sexy Killers (2019), The Endgame (2021), and Dirty Vote (2024), and Cypri Jehan Paju Dale, an anthropologist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
The film’s subject matter focuses on logging, militarism, and the resistance of Indigenous Papuans against the government’s food estate project in Papua.
Implications and Future Outlook
The decision to hold the screening in secret highlights the tension surrounding the film’s distribution. As reports of bans persist, future attempts to screen the documentary may continue to rely on digital anonymity and private locations. The level of scrutiny from officials could potentially drive such discussions further underground.