Letting things ferment
Links on storytelling and connection
Starting another dispatch from my kitchen table at 5 am. I’ve come to type here instead of being used as a human pillow by two little ones throughout the night (they were decent enough to distribute their night wakings within a few hours of each other).
Today: Free documentary films, advice from a story oracle, and the connection myth buster we had to have.
I’m in the fermentation stage of the manuscript I’m working on. Fermentation sounds like a passive process, just letting things sit, but the inside of a compost bin will tell you differently. There’s also something very metaphorical about composting for the writing process— something about the smelly decomposition (of the soul!) all for the promise of rich soil/text. Then again, remind me to tell you my theory about how you can turn any physical activity or hobby into a metaphor for creative work. Or maybe some theories should stay private.
But in this fizzing, oozing turning over of words, I often feel reluctant to jump to set conclusions about what else is happening in the world. Hence my early reluctance towards Twitter et. al. In my part of the world, in New South Wales in Australia, there have been a series of violent incidents, a few where women in particular have been killed. And then, of course, we’re in a time of excessive violence and war worldwide. These events are also fermenting, for me, and for all of us. A reminder, to myself as much as everyone else, that it’s ok, we have not evolved to come to rational conclusions about incomprehensible events in record time. To negate what I just said about Twitter, I did read this great tweet once, lost now, about how we are not personal embassies needing to issue statements regarding one’s feelings on all world events. I’m paraphrasing- it was better than that. So go gently, and quietly if you need to, as you ferment.
Free films on West Papua!
Ok, the free bit was a cheap attention hook, but these films don’t need it. The West Papua Mini Film Festival has made its way through several Australian cities and now, having finished, I wanted to share where you can find these excellent films online.
The films are special for a few reasons- they give an insight into Papua, where media restrictions and surveillance is common; and they’re produced by Papuan journalists and filmmakers from the excellent independent media group Tabloid Jubi. But also because as an observer of Papua for a long time, I really did hear some new perspectives and new stories from a part of the world that is so often reduced to news talking points, and dehumanised because of it. There’s been some fermenting here. All the films below are in Indonesian but with English subtitles:
My Name is Pengungsi (Refugee): Directed by my friend, the wonderful journalist Yuliana Latinpo, My name is Refugee follows the families of children named Pengungsi (meaning ‘Refugee’) as they were born while their mothers were forced to flee their homes due to increasing military presence and violence between Indonesian security forces and the Free Papua Movement guerrilla fighters.
Papuan Hip-Hop: When the Microphone Talks: A very cool set of interviews with West Papuan rappers sharing lyrics considered political in Papua, and the consequences they’ve faced because of it. Awesome to see the translated lyrics in the film— it would be great to have more lyrics available for an international audience. These guys (and all guys, my only gripe) were really insightful about making art under threat.
Black Pearl & General of the Field: About the Papuan football team Persipura- the Black Pearl— more proof sports is simply a side theatre for national politics. The film is good, but I highly recommend seeing a Persipura game in person to really feel that fact.
Pepera 1969, A Democratic Integration?: The question mark in the title is the key— this film examines the evidence to consider if the Act of Free Choice in 1969, the process by which Papua was formally annexed by Indonesia, was not a democratic process. It was great to meet one of the directors of this film, Henky Yeimo, at the film festival in Sydney— a brave journalist who has faced intimidation in his reporting work before.
For more documentary films on Papua, keep an eye on Tabloid Jubi’s playlist on Youtube. There’s other documentaries there, and I’m told plans to produce new films in the future.
And while we’re here supporting Papuan journalism:
Another independent Papuan media group, the Papua Journal, is fundraising to support Papuan journalists to produce work for two years if you are able to support them.
From Junot Diaz’s newish newsletter about writing stories: ‘Never let your controlling immigrant parents write your characters; or Liberty’
For all my ethnic migrant creative types, this is so good. Diaz’s Substack is cerebral and weird (good traits), but I particularly love this one. Hi mum, I know you’re reading this and no you were not controlling you were lovely.
A long read: ‘Mother Trees and Socialist Forests: Is the Wood-Wide-Web a fantasy?’
On how the theory that trees are interconnected may not be so true after all. I loved this article because it challenged my priors— when I first heard about the wood wide web I felt in my bones there was something right to it. But perhaps not. And maybe that’s the most revealing thing of all. This quote is the best:
“Why do we so badly want this to be true?” Karst has asked. Maybe the unrelenting news of global warming and its attendant catastrophes – wildfires, hurricanes – has driven readers for respite toward calmer environmental stories. Or perhaps recent political cruelties have led us to seek reassurance that, in nature, beings are thoughtful and kind. The connective aspect seems important, too, as if trees’ fungal friendships could release us from our phone-checking isolation. Fairly or not, we’ve loaded our aspirations on to the forest: be the tree you want to see in the world.
The dispatch is done, I’ve worked on it in snatches over the course of the day. Newsletter writing feels like such a fruitful way to procrastinate! Like drinking kombucha instead of social media soda. So thank you. And till next time x
Yes I’m reading ❤️