After surviving the Ik adventure, Cevin Soling, Another Land and team were off to document another remote cultural phenomenon, the John Frum movement on the island of Tanna, Vanuatu. Every February, male John Frum followers march in blue jeans with the letters USA painted red upon their chests. The John Frum movement is what many call a cargo cult, many of which sprung up around WWII on remote Pacific Islands. John Frum followers believe in cultural conservation, a currency free economy, and a prophecy of gifts in the form of infrastructure and, well, stuff. This prophecy was given to them by an American WWII serviceman by the name John (John from America = John Frum).
 
Our crew traveled to the island of Tanna on two consecutive years to document the contemporary movement and its leaders. As part of the documentary, the John Frum community was presented with mounds of cargo as gifts. This cargo, in turn, lead to jealous, selfish scheming by non-followers. In short, this little island of Tanna could have been the set for the next melodrama soap opera! We don't want to spoil the punch line, so you will have to wait for the documentary's release. To learn more, check out the project's website.