EXILED West Papuan tribal leader Benny Wenda is coming to Stroud this weekend to raise awareness for a documentary about his people's fight for freedom.

Stroud-based film company SnakeBite Productions, which is making the documentary, organised the talk to highlight the problems in West Papua, an island off the north coast of Australia.

The island gained independence from the Dutch in 1961 only to be flooded by troops from Indonesia.

Film-maker Nathan Hutchings, 30, who runs the company, said: "They began relocating thousands of their people in an effort to dilute the indigenous population and take control.

"Over the last 40 years thousands of West Papuans have been tortured and killed."

During the unrest Benny Wenda, who was involved in the free West Papua movement, was arrested and imprisoned.

After escaping in 2000 he sought asylum in the UK and now lives in Oxford with his wife and children.

"Benny managed to escape but had to trek through the jungle with his family to get to Papua New Guinea before he was able to travel to the UK," said Nathan.

"We want to document the human story of the problems to see if there is something we can do."

The film is the second major production for Snakebite and follows a documentary about the Iraq War called the Human Shield shown on BBC4 earlier this year.

Nathan, who lives with his 18-month-old daughter Lucia and partner Isla in Pincot Lane, Stroud, travelled to Iraq to produce the film.

"It was about the human side of the conflict," he said.

SnakeBite Productions, which Nathan named after being bitten by a snake in Zimbabwe, can be contacted on 01452 814881.

* Benny is speaking at the Space in Lansdown, Stroud on Saturday at 7.30pm. Admission is £2 on the door.