Featuring uniquely restored 35mm archive footage, The Promise reveals a story of betrayal, oppression and a people in danger of disappearing.

A forgotten struggle, a lost future. In the 1960s, it seemed that West Papua would become independent. But international interests, geopolitical power relations and economic profit considerations decided otherwise. With unique and impressively restored 35mm archive material, The Promise brings this history back to life and reveals how a people is systematically betrayed and oppressed.

Against the backdrop of the Cold War, the film shows how the future of West Papua was not only determined in diplomatic backrooms, but also by the business community, where influential Western elites seemed to put economic interests above human rights. While the vast mineral resources of West Papua are still being exploited today by mainly Western companies, the indigenous population is systematically oppressed. With moving stories of Papuans in exile and their struggle for recognition, director Daan Veldhuizen paints a painful picture in The Promise of how colonialism made way for neo-colonialism – and how the world remained silent.