The Rainbow Warriors of Waiheke Island Suzanne Raes, Netherlands, 2009, 89 minutes
Sunday, May 9 | 9:00pm | Vancity Theatre
On July 10, 1985, the Rainbow Warrior, flagship of Greenpeace, was bombed by the French Secret Service, killing photographer and crew-member Fernando Pereira. The attack was a response to the Greenpeace campaign against nuclear tests on Mururoa Atoll in the South Pacific, a campaign that was having an immense impact on public opinion.
Twenty-five years later, 6 members of the original Rainbow Warrior crew are now living in a harmonious community on Waiheke Island, New Zealand. For the 6 activists the bomb was a turning point in their lives. Susi, who once signed the purchase of the Rainbow Warrior, wrote a book about her life. Henk built his own boat. Engineer Hanne retired in an ecovillage. Deckhand Bunny became Director of Greenpeace New Zealand. Martini, the proud navigator, became a family man and tries to control his anger by taking pills. Rien, the ship’s cook tries to make ends meet by making jams. All of them continue in their own way to work for the preservation of the planet. In this film, they recall the beginnings of the Rainbow Warrior and how with Dutch money and a huge volunteer effort, they transformed a rusty old ship into the symbol of environmental activism.
At first, few of those involved were conscious of the dangers they would expose themselves to and what a huge impact their campaigns would have, but fortunately for the records and this film, all of their endeavours were filmed. The vessel’s first mission in 1978 was to take on an Icelandic whaling fleet. Dramatic pictures of the Greenpeace rubber dinghy under harpoon attack are seen around the world; a heavy setback for the whaling industry. Numerous missions follow against seal hunting and chemical and radioactive waste dumping.
In the 1980s, the Rainbow Warrior returns to the origins of Greenpeace — the peace movement — and heads for the French nuclear testing area in the Pacific Ocean. The initial task on the voyage was evacuating 320 Marshall Islanders, ravaged by fall-out from US Nuclear tests 31 years earlier. The incredible rescue is recorded and those archives as well as a plethora of other archival scenes are contained in the film. They include shocking images of the consequences of the French nuclear tests, action-packed footage of brave little rubber boats harpooned by whalers and joyous home movies that bear witness to the exceptional sense of camaraderie that existed on the legendary ship.
Director’s biography
Suzanne Raes (1969) studied Cultural Sciences at the University of Amsterdam. She has been working as a director of documentaries since 1995. In her films she focuses on social issues and inter-human relationships: above all the importance for all human beings to be understood.
