Alexandre Berman
Director – Writer – Editor - Cinematography – Sound
Alexandre Berman is a French documentary filmmaker and editor, based in Paris, France. He co-directs the documentary “The Panguna Syndrome” with Olivier Pollet and the film is a finalist for Albert Londres Prize 2017 in France. In 2018, his feature documentary “Norvège: Les Ombres sur la Mer” captures cultural heritage stories in Norway. Part of the relaunch of French “Connaissance du Monde” cinema circuit, it is screened in France and Switzerland for several months across 2018 and 2019.
Olivier Pollet
Director – Writer – Producer - Cinematography – Sound
Olivier Pollet is a multi award-winning documentary filmmaker, producer, researcher, investigative journalist and impact/archive producer. Over the past decade his films have focused on corporate accountability, human rights, environmental issues and colonial legacies. They have screened at film festivals and been broadcast around the world. His passion for telling such stories started by directing and producing the documentary “Canning Paradise” (2012, 90min) which won several awards and was nominated for an F4 Factual Awards at the AIDC, as best emerging factual filmmaker in Australia. He then co-directed “When we were Hela” (2014, 14min) which featured in the Nation and the Guardian, and co-directed with Alexandre Berman and co-produced “The Panguna Syndrome”, which was a nominee for the Albert Londres Prize, the most prestigious journalism award in France. Ophir is his latest award-winning production. As an extension and complement to the feature film, he created with leading academics a multimedia educational platform on colonialism entitled The Colonial Syndrome (2022), which features over 30 short films and many unique archives.
Nathan Matbob
Assistant Director - Research
Nathan had been living and working in Bougainville since 2013. His primary works are in research, film making and assisting in community development projects and initiatives in the constituency he resides in. Together with his wife Theonila, both manage and run the early childhood and counselling centre in Panguna. One of his major work is the Bougainville Voices report of 2014 by Jubilee Australia, and among other partnerships; Nathan continues to use his networks to send young people out to tertiary institutions throughout the country. Nathan’s broad experience has enabled him to work in different spheres in research, education, community development, politics and journalism. He currently manages the Adult Literacy and Research & Partnership components at the John Roka Learning and Counselling Centre.
Theonila Roka Matbob
Research
Theonila is the current member elect of Ioro Constituency where the Panguna mine is located, and the Minister for Education of the Automomous Bougainville Government. She is a strong advocate for reconciliation, peace and justice for the people and environment. Together with her family, she established and continues to manage an early childhood and counselling centre in her village. Theonila has held several roles in her career with different international partners and NGOs, Peace Building, politics, health, education and gender equality advocacy. She continues to advocate and be vocal on issues that affect her people in Panguna and Bougainville. She is a strong supporter for independence for her island home.
Ilann Girard – Arsam International
Producer
After a 12 years tenure as General Counsel for Pandora Cinema, a leading sales and financing company of the 90’s, Ilann Girard set up Arsam as consultancy and production company for high end documentary and drama features. His credits include Academy award-winning feature documentary “March of the Penguins”, Berlinale Official Competition’s “Goodbye Bafana” by Bille August, “Plastic Planet” by Werner Boote, Venice 2009 Golden Lion “Lebanon” by Samuel Maoz, Stanley Tucci’s “Final Portrait” and Alla Kovgan’s 3D feature dance documentary “Cunningham” which premiered in 2019 at TIFF.
Kristian Lasslett – Ulster University
Producer
Professor Kristian Lasslett is Head of the School of Applied Social and Policy Sciences at the University of Ulster, and sits on the Executive Board of the International State Crime Initiative. He is joint Editor-in-Chief of State Crime, a leading international peer reviewed journal, and Editor of The State Testimony Project, the first online casebook for state crime studies. Kristian’s research focuses on criminogenic intersections of state-corporate power, and the communities of resistance that emerge in opposition.
Marie-Estelle Dieterle
Editing
A storyteller, Marie-Estelle visually tells all kinds of stories, be it real or imagined. She helps directors during the last stage of the narrative writing process with the editing. She has been navigating between documentary and fiction projects over the past 15 years. Trained in Canada and working mainly in Paris since 2005, she offers artists the opportunity to join editing residencies in Auvergne to complete their projects.
Clive Porabou
Additional Research
Clive Porabou was born on Bougainville at the time when the mining company Rio Tinto was starting to dig the largest open-pit copper mine in the world, Panguna, right in the middle of the island. Later in 1989, in the early years of the Bougainville Crisis, Clive fought alongside the Bougainville Revolutionary Army. It is during the war that he picked up his camera for the first time. Since the war ended, Clive has been a musician and an active Bougainvillean filmmaker, documenting the story of the past and present struggle of his homeland for recognition and Independence. Some of his work can be seen here.
Xavier Thiry
Composer
Xavier Thiry is a composer and record producer. He is behind the scores of many video games, and he mixed and produced albums of the bands La Féline and Fishbach. He also wrote pieces for TV shows and advertising and publishes his own music under the name Hello Kurt.