The Opposition
No one is above the law
Can Joe Moses save his community from being evicted from their homes? Find out in this David-and-Goliath battle over a slice of Papua New Guinean paradise.
Mothers’ Day, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea 2012: police wielding machetes and guns descend on the Paga Hill Settlement to bulldoze houses to the ground. Residents are beaten and police open fire on the crowd. This brutal demolition is to make way for a multi-million development which will include a five-star hotel and marina wharf. This investigative documentary follows Joe Moses as he struggles to save his community before they are forcibly evicted. Despite betrayals, police brutality and risks to his own life, Joe battles through the courts fighting to save his home.
“Crisply filmed and ominously scored, Fifer’s movie is studded with dramatic moments, including a shocking betrayal by a resistance ally, and underwritten with a terse sense of outrage that so many issue documentaries attempt but rarely achieve with such devastating effect.”
Chris Barsanti, Film Journal International
Awards
Winner | 2017 | Grand Prix FIFO, Tahiti | Best Documentary Film
Winner | 2018 | OZflix Independent Film Awards | Best Feature Documentary
Finalist | 2017 | Screen Producers Australia Award | Best Single Documentary
Nominated | 2017 | ASIA Pacific Screen Award | Best Documentary Feature
Nominated | 2017 | CPH:DOX | F:act Award
Nominated | 2017 | Docudays Film Festival | DocuRights Awards
Watch it
In Australia: Stream on Apple TV and DocPlay
In the United States: Stream on Amazon
In the UK: Stream on Amazon
Screen it
Please contact the distributors: Media Stockade
Study it
Use our complimentary study guide for tertiary students.
About this production
76-minute documentary feature
Producer(s): Rebecca Barry and Madeleine Hetherton-Miau
Director: Hollie Fifer
Executive Producers: Beadie Finzi, Jess Search
Production year: 2016
Website: theoppositionfilm.com
Partners
