Hiding in the Shadows // 2023

Directed by Jamie Wolfeld & Produced by Angus MacInnes​​

In the Palm Oil sector, it is increasingly common for corporate groups owned by an individual or family to conceal their control of problematic assets. Concealed ownership helps shield these groups from being held to account for the rogue operations they control. The short film, Hiding in the Shadows, documents the situation of the Dayak Agabag, an indigenous peoples who have lived in North Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) since time immemorial. In the last two decades the Agabag have seen their lands be taken over by two palm oil companies, PT KHL and PT BHP. The film documents the toll PT KHL and PT BHP operations have had on the Dayak Agabag community, who are repeatedly subject to criminalisation and intimidation in an apparent effort to deter community resistance to plantation expansion.

The evidence unearthed in the filmmaker’s investigation suggests PT KHL and PT BHP are shadow companies of First Resources, a group controlled by oligarchic Fangiono family. First Resources is a member of the RSPO, a sustainability certification which guarantees that the palm oil produced under the scheme is free from human rights abuses and environmental harms. First Resources denies it has control over PT BHP and PT KHL.

Watch the film and make up your own mind as to who is telling the truth.