Documentary backdrop image for Tropic Fever (2022)

Documentary backdrop image for Tropic Fever (2022)

202260 minGdocumentary

Colonialism Social Inequality

Tropic Fever

202260 minGdocumentary

Archive material from 1890 to 1930 provides a backdrop for reflections on tobacco and rubber cultivation in a European plantation on Sumatra.

Colonialism Social Inequality

Genres

Directors

Robin Hartanto Honggare,

Mahardhika Yudha,

Perdana Roswaldy

Synopsis

Archive material from 1890 to 1930 provides a backdrop for reflections on tobacco and rubber cultivation in a European plantation on Sumatra.

People

Robin Hartanto Honggaredirector

Mahardhika Yudha

Mahardhika Yudhadirector

Perdana Roswaldydirector

Synopsis

Sumatra's plantations during Dutch colonial rule provide the backdrop for a semi-autobiographical narrative of a European plantation manager. The film examines local tobacco and rubber cultivation while addressing the social construction of skin colour. It incorporates archival material from 1890 to 1930, reflecting on the concept of "tropic fever" that permeates the environment and society. Through this lens, the documentary presents a critical view of the plantation system and its lasting impacts.

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Pig Feast (2026)

Pig Feast

2026•1h35m•★10.0TMDB

1,800 red crosses have been planted by indigenous groups in South Papua as a form of resistance against government land exploitation for industrial projects.

Background to Latin America (2022)

Background to Latin America

Over four and a half million people live in Mexico City, the largest Spanish-speaking city in the world.

Background to Latin America

Waiting for John Frum: Cargo Cult of the South Pacific (2021)

Waiting for John Frum: Cargo Cult of the South Pacific

Islanders on Tanna have awaited the arrival of John Frum for over 100 years, believing he will bring them cargo from the gods.

Waiting for John Frum: Cargo Cult of the South Pacific

Faces of colonialism: the story of an imperialist propaganda (2023)

Faces of colonialism: the story of an imperialist propaganda

Robert Lohmeyer took the first color photographs of Africa between 1907 and 1909, documenting German colonies and shaping European perceptions of the continent.

Faces of colonialism: the story of an imperialist propaganda

Tobaccoland & Underground Heroin Clinic (2014)

Tobaccoland & Underground Heroin Clinic

Two-thirds of Indonesian men smoke, with tobacco advertising still widespread, as patients believe smoking can cure ailments like cancer.

Tobaccoland & Underground Heroin Clinic

Will Deforestation Lead To The Extinction Of Tigers? (2016)

Will Deforestation Lead To The Extinction Of Tigers?

Deforestation in Sumatra threatens the survival of the endangered Sumatran tiger, with over sixty percent of Riau's forests cleared for industrial plantations.

Will Deforestation Lead To The Extinction Of Tigers?

Indonesia's Tobacco Children (2019)

Indonesia's Tobacco Children

In Indonesia, children are increasingly targeted by global tobacco companies, leading to widespread smoking and hazardous labor in tobacco harvesting for major UK cigarette brands.

Indonesia's Tobacco Children

The Battle for Suriname's Rainforest (2007)

The Battle for Suriname's Rainforest

Suriname's rainforest, home to diverse indigenous and bushnegroe cultures, faces exploitation threats from developers, challenging the preservation of its unique heritage.

The Battle for Suriname's Rainforest

Singapore On Film: What Life Was Like During The 1900s In The Former British Colony (2024)

Singapore On Film: What Life Was Like During The 1900s In The Former British Colony

80% of early films from Singapore have not survived, but restored footage reveals life in the former British colony during the early 1900s.

Singapore On Film: What Life Was Like During The 1900s In The Former British Colony

The Tin Trade's Terrible Toll In Indonesia (2016)

The Tin Trade's Terrible Toll In Indonesia

Between 50,000 and 100,000 illegal miners work in perilous conditions on Bangka Island, contributing to Indonesia's status as the world's largest tin exporter.

The Tin Trade's Terrible Toll In Indonesia

Women Behind Bars in Philippines: How to Survive the Mandaluyong Prison? (2025)

Women Behind Bars in Philippines: How to Survive the Mandaluyong Prison?

Mandaluyong City's Correctional Institution for Women, the oldest women's prison in the Philippines, houses over three thousand inmates amid strict security challenges.

Women Behind Bars in Philippines: How to Survive the Mandaluyong Prison?

The True Cost of Clothing - True Story Documentary Channel (2021)

The True Cost of Clothing - True Story Documentary Channel

The clothing industry has seen a decline in prices over decades, while the human and environmental costs, highlighted by figures like Stella McCartney and Vandana Shiva, have surged dramatically.

The True Cost of Clothing - True Story Documentary Channel

Explore Tropic Fever

Cast & Crew Topics FAQ

Where else to watch

Mother Dao, the Turtlelike (1995)

Mother Dao, the Turtlelike

1995•1h30m•★7.8TMDB

In the 1920s, Dutch colonial rule in Indonesia altered local culture, revealing the dynamics between colonizers and the indigenous population.

Mother Dao, the Turtlelike

Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death (2003)

Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death

2003•1h24m•★7.4TMDB

Over 10 million Congolese people died under King Leopold II's rule from 1885 to 1908 due to forced labor and violent exploitation.

Congo: White King, Red Rubber, Black Death

The Fever (2020)

The Fever

2020•1h39m•★7.0TMDB

A child dies from malaria every 60 seconds in Sub-Saharan Africa, with local communities in Uganda and Kenya developing strategies to combat the disease.

Tropicália (2012)

Tropicália

2012•1h27m•★7.1TMDB

A vibrant exploration of Brazil's Tropicália movement and its resistance.

Inherent Good (2017)

Inherent Good

2017•56m•★10.0TMDB

A small fraction of Americans controls the majority of the nation's wealth, while the film discusses Universal Basic Income as a potential solution.

Browse more like this

Tobaccoland & Underground Heroin Clinic (2014)

Tobaccoland & Underground Heroin Clinic

Two-thirds of Indonesian men smoke, with tobacco advertising still widespread, as patients believe smoking can cure ailments like cancer.

Tobaccoland & Underground Heroin Clinic

No digital watch option in your country

Singapore On Film: What Life Was Like During The 1900s In The Former British Colony (2024)

Singapore On Film: What Life Was Like During The 1900s In The Former British Colony

80% of early films from Singapore have not survived, but restored footage reveals life in the former British colony during the early 1900s.

Singapore On Film: What Life Was Like During The 1900s In The Former British Colony

No digital watch option in your country

Women Behind Bars in Philippines: How to Survive the Mandaluyong Prison? (2025)

Women Behind Bars in Philippines: How to Survive the Mandaluyong Prison?

Mandaluyong City's Correctional Institution for Women, the oldest women's prison in the Philippines, houses over three thousand inmates amid strict security challenges.

Women Behind Bars in Philippines: How to Survive the Mandaluyong Prison?

No digital watch option in your country

The True Cost of Clothing - True Story Documentary Channel (2021)

The True Cost of Clothing - True Story Documentary Channel

The clothing industry has seen a decline in prices over decades, while the human and environmental costs, highlighted by figures like Stella McCartney and Vandana Shiva, have surged dramatically.

The True Cost of Clothing - True Story Documentary Channel

No digital watch option in your country

Bananaland: Blood, Bullets & Poison (2016)

Bananaland: Blood, Bullets & Poison

2016•1h11m•★9.0TMDB

Millions face social upheaval, violence, and pesticide poisoning in banana-producing regions, challenging the perception of bananas as a healthy snack.

Bananaland: Blood, Bullets & Poison

The Globalisation Tapes (2003)

The Globalisation Tapes

2003•1h11m•★6.7TMDB

Indonesian workers on rubber and palm oil plantations discuss their struggles against militarism, Third World debt, and the roles of the IMF and World Bank.

The Globalisation Tapes

You Think the Earth Is a Dead Thing (2019)

You Think the Earth Is a Dead Thing

2019•1h10m•★7.6TMDB

Local farmers in Martinique are reclaiming uncultivated lands to grow indigenous vegetables, addressing health issues linked to pesticide use on banana plantations.

You Think the Earth Is a Dead Thing

Tropic of Cancer (2010)

Tropic of Cancer

2010•1h30m•★7.1TMDB

Five countries are featured in a BBC Two series that examines local cultures and environmental challenges along the Tropic of Cancer.

Tropic of Cancer

The Land Beneath the Fog (2024)

The Land Beneath the Fog

2024•1h45m•★6.7TMDB

Farmers in Genikan, a village on Merbabu Mountain, face erratic weather patterns that threaten their agricultural practices guided by the Javanese calendar.

The Land Beneath the Fog

The Terrorists (2011)

The Terrorists

2011•1h43m•★4.3TMDB

Two men fish off the coast of Bangkok, where the warm seawater conceals the memories of a bloody massacre that occurred in spring 2010.

See You Tomorrow Elina (2011)

See You Tomorrow Elina

Children in Iran navigate their lives amid political decisions that influence their growth and family relationships throughout history.

See You Tomorrow Elina

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →