Bikpela Bagarap is a new documentary film revealing the human face of logging in Papau New Guinea.

PNG is home to one of the richest rainforests in the world but today remains one of the few countries that still allows the export of raw logs, and this is greatly exploited by Asian logging companies. The World Bank estimates that 70% of all logging in Papua New Guinea is illegal, although most unofficial sources put the rate even higher than that.

The story of Bikpela Bagarap is told through the voice of regular villagers, without narration. It is a tale of exploitation and broken promises, where local people are treated as second-rate citizens in their own country by Malaysian logging companies and corrupt politicians.

Customary landowners are forced into signing documents they don’t understand, for the promise of “development” - fresh water, health and education, but these essential services are rarely provided. Instead, their traditional hunting ground is destroyed, waterways polluted, and their way of life ruined forever.