"Breaking Bows and Arrows"

Set on the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, Breaking Bows and Arrows explores the
challenging emotional terrain of personal reconciliation after a bloody civil
war.
"Winner of the United Nations Media Peace Award for Best Television for 2002"Screened at the Margaret Mead International Film Festival New York 2002Screened at the Commonwealth Film Festival Manchester 2002

On the island of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, victims and perpetrators are coming together in traditionally based reconciliation ceremonies after a decade long civil war left the community bitterly divided. In the largest reconciliation ceremony yet to take, BBA follows fighters who
have killed each others families as they come together to break bows and arrows in a traditional gesture of peace.
On a more personal journey Francis Boisivere retrieves the bones of a chief he
killed, ceremonially returning them to the bereaved wife, Immaculate Atorevi. He
seeks forgiveness, she a release from the hatred she harbours.

1 x 52 minute documentaryCompleted in 2001
Producer: Ellenor Cox Writer / Director: Liz Thompson DOP: Joel Peterson & Liz ThompsonEditor: Stewart Young Composer: Felicity Fox Production
Co: Firelight Productions & Tiger Eye Productions
Screened: SBS TV
Australia, Vision TV Canada
Produced with the assistance of: AFC, NSW FTO, FFC and Soros
Foundation

Sales and Video sales contact: Ellenor Cox
at Firelight Productions. ellenor@firelight.com.au

QuickTime 1'
34"TRAILERUp to 5 min download timeFile size - 2.1 Mg


Director's Statement - Liz Thompson
I was inspired to make Breaking Bows and
Arrows after meeting Blendine Sisio, a widow whose husband was shot during the
decade long Bougainville Crisis. Blendine spoke of her desire to meet with her
husbands killers and the hope that together they could retrieve his bones and
give him a proper burial. Blendine was haunted by the fact her husbands remains
had not been brought to their rightful resting place and by the anger she felt
towards the killers. She wished not only to free herself from the bitterness she
carried but also to release the killers from the guilt and alienation she
believed they were experiencing. Her extraordinary desire to reconcile typifies
the sentiment of so many Bougainvilleans who have lost loved ones during the
war. Freeing themselves from hatred and the cohesion of the community is of
greater importance than revenge. This basic premise seemed to portray such a
message of hope and demonstrate the tremendous human capacity to forgive – it
struck me as a potent message and an example not only for other communities
traumatised and divided by war but for all of us. As the film unfolded the
largest inter-district ceremony yet to take place on the island was about to
take place after nearly three years of preparation. Key fighters from both sides
came together in a traditionally based reconciliation ceremony which included
thousands of spectators. Men who had killed each others’ families shared betel
nut, broke bows and arrows in a traditional gesture of peace, shook hands and
exchanged traditional wealth. Finally a stone was buried as a monument to the
strength of the commitment to end the fighting. Francis Bisivere, one of the
participants, then went on an even more challenging emotional journey. He dug up
the bones of a chief he murdered during the crisis and ceremonially returned
them to Immaculate Atorevi, the bereaved wife and relatives. During this process
he tells of how he seeks forgiveness and a release from guilt. As the wife and
family grieve over the coffin Francis is clearly moved….. the emotional legacy
of war is painfully evident and the pain and suffering he has caused are hard
for him to bear. After the ceremony Francis speaks of a new sense of freedom, a
release from ‘ the heaviness’ and a commitment not to ‘re-offend’. Immaculate
tells of the great relief she experiences at having buried her husbands bones in
their rightful place and that she now feels peace will gradually return to her
heart. Breaking Bows and Arrows is a powerful testament to the importance of
genuine healing after painful and bloody conflict so that not only those
directly involved can move forward but the legacy of hatred will not be passed
on to the next generation.