Yonri Revolt’s politically committed documentary Mayday! May day! Mayday! tells the story of the miners from the Grasberg copper mine in Mimika Regency, Indonesia. In early 2017, the Freeport Indonesia mining corporation laid off several thousand workers, who demonstrated on May Day, inaugurating what would become one of the longest strikes of the 21st century, continuing for over five years now. The film shows how the workers – mostly ethnic Papuans – deal with the ongoing strike. Combining reportage, talking-head interviews and archival footage, the filmmaker crafts a lyrical portrait of lives in suspension.
In this programme, we will watch the documentary and engage in a discussion with Yonri Revolt, Raki Ap and writer Anne Lot Hoek about the extraordinary strike, the situation of the Grasberg copper mine, and the political tensions between Indonesia and New-Guinea.
