• Director(s):

    Molia (Agnès)

  • Producer(s):

    TOURNEZ S'IL VOUS PLAÎT PRODUCTION, ARTE FRANCE

  • Territories:

    Worldwide.

  • Production year:

    2019

  • Language(s):

    German, English, French

  • Rights:

    TV, DVD, NON-THEATRICAL, INTERNET, VOD

The Baining people live in small groups dotted through the mountainous jungle of the Gazelle peninsula in Papua New Guinea. Several times a year, when one of their number dies, or to celebrate the harvest or an important visit, the tribesmen go into the forest to make huge masks.
 
 

The location of this ancestral ritual is a secret. Before starting the preparation, the men hunt and capture a snake which will be exhibited during the ceremony. They then select a mulberry tree and remove a layer of bark which they turn into material on which they paint strange anthropomorphic features. These masks represent the spirits of the forest which their ancestors have seen in caves in the jungle. By making these masks, the Baining embody the spirits to scare those who behave badly.
The preparations go on for three days, far from prying eyes. On the day itself, a great fire is lit in the village. Dancers wearing the masks come and dance around the fire and jump on the embers to show they are more powerful than nature, stronger than the flames.