THE brightest city lights Penan man Nick Kelesau had ever seen were those of the oil and gas town of Miri in Sarawak. Never did he dream that he would go anywhere further than that.

Now, the 54-year-old can talk about having been to Zurich, Bern and Basel in Switzerland, and the French cities of Paris and Dijon – unheard-of places for him until he landed a role in a film on Swiss activist Bruno Manser.

In the US$6 million (RM25 million) Paradise War – The Bruno Manser Story, Kelesau plays a Penan chief, Along Sega, who becomes close friends with Manser, who championed the rights of the nomadic tribe to live as they choose, and opposed encroachment on their land by logging companies.

The Swedish-Austrian production is based on the true story of Manser’s time with the tribe, whose food supply from the forests was being destroyed by loggers. It is unclear if the movie will be allowed in Malaysia.

Manser lived with the Penan in the 1980s and went public with his activism in the 1990s, founding the civil society organisation Bruno Manser Fonds in Switzerland.

He was declared persona non grata by the Sarawak government and disappeared in 2000 while reportedly making his way to the Sarawak-Kalimantan border for a trip back to Europe via Indonesia.

His disappearance remains a mystery to this day.

Paradise War, directed by Niklaus Hilber and produced by Valentin Greutert, took 10 years to make.

Since on-location filming could not be done in Sarawak due to the subject’s politically sensitive nature, shooting was done for two months in neighbouring Kalimantan.

From fixer to actor

Initially, Kelesau was engaged by the production crew to be a guide to help scout for the right acting talent.

“I was the guide taking the director around to several villages looking for the right person to cast as the film’s characters.

“In the end, he asked me to give it a try. There were a few interviews with some who were shortlisted, but in the end, I was chosen,” Kelesau told The Malaysian Insight.

When the time came for the premiere of the movie at the Zurich Film Festival on September 26, Kelesau, together with fellow Penan co-star Elizabeth Ballang, flew there.

Ballang was cast as Manser’s love interest. Manser was played by 29-year-old Swiss actor Sven Schelker.

For nearly a month, Kelesau said, he lived a life he knew he could not possibly experience again on his own.

“It was VIP treatment all the way, complete with my own minders,” said the father of two.

“It was as if I was a very famous actor. Chauffeur-driven everywhere.

“I attended the world premiere that was also attended by Swiss President Ueli Maurer and Zurich Mayor Corinne Mauch. I was introduced to them, but I don’t think they knew too much of me.

“I had to attend cocktail parties, give interviews and even sign autographs. It was all very dizzying,” he said, recounting the experience.

It was a far cry from his quiet life in the jungle at the Penan settlement of Long Kerong Serungo, deep in Baram.

At home, Kelesau waits for jobs as a guide to tourists, or does his “own work” to maintain his home and put food on the table.

The Penan are traditionally nomadic, but shrinking jungles and resettlement programmes are forcing them to adapt to a more static lifestyle. 

In Basel, there were cocktail parties, interviews and endless photo sessions.

“It was a full house in both Zurich and Basel. There were lots of people. If you ask me who I was introduced to or talked to, I wouldn’t know,” said Kelesau.

“What I remember is, there was a lot of interest in the movie. The Swiss were amazed with the way we live our life in the forest. The tools and the utensils we use.

“They never thought such a lifestyle still exists. The thick jungles amaze them.”

Screen film in Malaysia

Part of this jungle lifestyle in the Sarawak interior is to travel long distances just to get to town.

Kelesau said when he sent one of his children to school in Miri, he had to first take a boat ride from their home to another settlement in Long Siut. This trip took between one and three hours, depending on the water level.

From there, it was another six to seven hours by road to Miri.

The chance to act in Paradise World has brought Kelesau further than he had ever imagined. When official duties to promote the film were over, he and Ballang managed to soak up the sights and sounds of the Swiss cities they were in, and even did some mountain climbing.

They were also taken on a tour of Paris and the eastern French city of Dijon, famous for its mustard.

“I don’t think I could ever experience this again on my own,” said the grandfather to a 1-year-old child.

The excitement has died down, and Kelesau is happy to go about his usual routine at home.

He has not thought about fame, and even wonders if Paradise War will ever be shown in Malaysia, given its touchy subject on the link between politics and timber concessions.

Demands for native customary rights to land by Sarawak’s indigenous peoples have also grown louder in recent times.

“I’m not famous at all. The film isn’t out in Malaysia, and I’m not sure if it will even be shown. Maybe if it is, only then might people know who I am,” said Kelesau with a grin. – November 8, 2019.