MOVIE • 1992

Tidikawa: At the Edge of Heaven

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This film captures the poignancy of a native people undergoing cultural change. When Susan Cornwell first encountered the Bedamini in Papua, New Guinea in 1971, they were aggressive and practiced cannibalism as part of their religion. She was able to befriend them and make a landmark film, Tidikawa and Friends. Now, on her return, she finds a people in Western dress, wearing T-shirts instead of nose bones. Many have been converted to Christianity. They perform their tribal dances for money, and use calculators to determine the charges. Susan shows them the old film and they respond with excitement to images of their former selves. The skillful intercutting of old and new footage dramatizes the effects of westernization on an indigenous people.