Me and my girlfriend are planning a trip to Sumba this comming spring with a film/video-documentary idéa in my mind. What is the attitude towards forigners? Especially the ones with annoying cameras in their hands. How discreet do I have to be? Will we feel safe or is there a possible theft/robbery vibe?

Manne.

I think I never met anybody in Indonesia who find a camera annoying. Usually people love to pose for the lens, and I don't think Sumba is different. But still I think it is a good idea sometimes to ask for permission to take a photo or use the videocamera, depending on the situation and cultural context, just use your common sense and be polite, and you will have no problem.

That also goes for the theft problem, I'm absolutely positive that you will not see theft as a big problem in Sumba, maybe except for the cities where you should watch your belongings as you would in any western city. My experience is that the more remote the area is, the more nice, polite and honest the people is. The large majority of the people are very friendly to foreigners who treat them with respect.