Pepsi War (1992) dir. Charlie Clay

The postcolonial period in Papua New Guinea has seen resurgence in tribal warfare. Pepsi War follows the story of a fight between two clans, which developed from a dispute over cola bottles. The documentary portrays a great example of how tribes can engage in war over trivial reasons, not in an effort to annihilate (even though that s the apparent motivation), but to declare superiority through intimidation. The camera is in the middle of the action most of the time during the combat sequences, and the way information about the causes, progress and outcome of the war is constantly distorted and rewritten through hearsay and manipulation right in the field is extremely enticing, even amusing at times, and perhaps reflects the very nature of war in general.