Director

THOMAS BALMÈS was born in 1969. Following a course of Cinema Studies, he became involved in the production of documentaries for various TV channels, both as an independent producer and as a director. In 1992 he set up his own production company, TBC Productions. His first films were Behind the scene: Jefferson in Paris (1994), Fare un film è per me vivere (1995), a documentary on the shooting of Behind the clouds, by Michelangelo Antonioni and Wim Wenders, which was entered in the Los Angeles and Venice Festivals, Bosnia Hotel (1996), which won him a Special Jury Mention at the Biarritz Festival and Grand Prix at the Seia Festival in Portugal. He then produced Maharaja Burger (1997) and finally his trilogy: the award-winning The Gospel according to the Papuans (1999), which was awarded, amongst the other prizes, the Grand Prix at the Telluride and Ravenna Festivals, Waiting for Jesus (2000) and his most recent work, Waiting for Jesus, the Gospel according to the Papuans (2000), which has been entered in several Festivals and has received numerous awards.

The Papuan Highlands were relatively unknown to the oustide world until well into the last century: a complex mosaic, inhabited by some 900 tribes with their own languages and culture, they've been besieged by a hundred evangelising Western denominations.

The Hulis, who first saw white men in 1955, were one of the last tribes to convert to Christianity.

They are now awaiting the Messiah, promised to them by the missionaries, whilst trying to reach a difficult compromise between tradition and modernisation.

Photos
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