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LOST RAMBOS

Guardian UK, Screen Australia co Production in association with Film Victoria

Produced by Michaela Perske
& Kiki Dillon

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What happened when M16s replaced bows and arrows in tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea? Tribal fighting has long been present in the Papua New Guinea highlands but the influx of modern automatic weaponry in the 1990s turned local disputes into lethal exchanges that threatened to permanently reshape highlands culture. Bootleg copies of the US film Rambo circulated in remote communities, becoming a crude tutorial on the use of such weaponry. The film's influence was so pronounced that the term Rambo is used in Papuan dialects to describe hired mercenaries who are paid to support local combatants in violent tribal disputes. Here we meet the fighters and peacekeepers trying to navigate a path between tradition and modernity

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Launched at the Melbourne International Film Festival 2019
Winner: Best Short Documentary

EXTRA CONTENT //

Guardian Article

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Melbourne Film Festival: Profile

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Radio Interview: Movie Metropolis

 

PRODUCTION STILLS // DOP Michael Latham

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PHOTOGRAPHY //

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CREDITS

Directed by: Chris Phillips
Produced by: Michaela Perske, Kiki Dillon
Commissioned by: The Guardian and Screen Australia
Executive Producers for the Guardian: Charlie Phillips, Jacqueline Edenbrow
Edited by: Daniel Lee
Director of Photography: Michael Latham

Original music composed, produced and performed by: Aaron Cupples
Sound Design & Mix: AJ Bradford
Live Sound Recording (Mt Hagen): Alex Bryson
Colour Grading and Online: Matt Fezz
Post Production House: The Butchery
Translation: Naomi Semi, Norma Semi, Joseph Lakai, Roger Yamo, James Timil

 

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