Ten murdered. Zero convicted. France's buried colonial crime finally speaks.
This movie retraces one of the bloodiest episodes in the 'Events' in New Caledonia. On December 5th, 1984, in Waan Yaat in the Hienghène valley, kanak independence activists were the victims of an ambush. The Waan Yaat massacre leaves 10 dead and 5 seriously injured. The trap was laid by small landowners from the valley, who wanted to avoid being chased out of their property. The murderers confessed to the crime but were acquitted by the French justice system, who ruled their actions were 'preventative self-defence'. Almost 40 years on, the protagonists of this tragedy speak out for the first time.
Direction
First-time voices after 40 years of state silence.
Editing
Survivor testimonies woven without sensationalism.
Director
Dorothée Tromparent
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The 'Events' (1984-1988) remain France's least-known decolonization conflict, with this massacre predating the more famous 1988 hostage crisis by years.
Director Emmanuel Desbouiges is Kanak himself — this is community-controlled testimony, not external observation. The film's existence is itself an act of archival resistance against French judicial erasure.
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