Description

Film Screening: The Coconut Revolution (2001)
Date/Time: Friday, 13 Feb 2026 — 11:00pm GMT / 6:00pm US Eastern (EST)

This is the modern-day story of Indigenous people achieving a stunning victory against Western colonial power. On the Pacific island of Bougainville, a community rose up against the giant mining corporation Rio Tinto Zinc (RTZ) after the Panguna Mine devastated their land and treated the people as expendable. When RTZ refused compensation, the people made a decision that changed history: they shut the mine down.

The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) moved in to crush the rebellion. The newly formed Bougainville Revolutionary Army (BRA) began with bows and arrows—sticks and stones—yet still held most of the island. When the PNGDF couldn’t win on the ground, they enforced a gunboat blockade meant to starve Bougainville into surrender.

But something extraordinary happened inside the blockade.

With no shipments coming in or out, how did new electricity networks appear in BRA-held territory?
How did vehicles keep moving without petrol or diesel?

What unfolded was an environmental and spiritual revolution: the ruins of Panguna were repurposed and recycled—fueling what became known as the world’s first eco-revolution.

Awards & Recognition
Winner:

• FICA Festival of Environmental Film, Brazil

• BEMA Richard Keefe Memorial Award – WWF

• Golden Kite (Best Documentary), Mar del Plata, Argentina

• Silver Kite (Best Film for Young People), Argentina

Runner-up:

• BEMA (British Environmental Media Awards) – Best Documentary

• Amnesty International Awards – Best Documentary

• One World Media Awards 2001 – TV Documentary