The $4.5 million period drama, filmed in six languages on remote Mussau Island and in Goroka, has finished principal photography and is aiming for a 2027 festival premiere, Variety reports.
Papua New Guinea's most expensive film to date, the $4.5 million historical drama "Mussau: The First Song", has completed principal photography after a 40-day shoot across two provinces, Variety reports. Filming took place on Mussau Island in New Ireland Province and in Goroka in the Eastern Highlands Province. Producer NAFA Productions, based in Papua New Guinea, marked the wrap with a Thanksgiving event in Port Moresby on Saturday, attended, according to Variety, by Arts, Culture and Tourism Minister Belden Norman Namah, Chief Secretary Ivan Pomaleu and Chief Censor Jim Abani.
The film is directed by Bijukumar Damodaran, an Indian filmmaker and three-time National Film Award winner, and is described as inspired by a true story set in the 1930s. It follows Taula Livovoa, a young islander who walks away from tribal violence and embraces a new faith, a choice that the producers say set off sweeping social change. The dialogue is spoken in six languages: Mussau, Emirau, Agarabi, Gadsup, Tok Pisin and English. Some of these are indigenous languages with small numbers of speakers, and the producers present the film as a way to help protect Papua New Guinea's linguistic and cultural heritage while reaching a global audience.
Much of the cast was drawn from local communities, and many performers are acting on screen for the first time, with some reportedly never having watched a film before. Several roles are played by great-grandchildren of the real people who inspired the story, alongside two British actors. Variety says the 120-person crew, including 20 technicians from India, spent 30 hours at sea to reach an island with little infrastructure and patchy communications, relying on temporary lodging and on help from islanders. Damodaran called the project one of the most challenging and rewarding journeys of his career. NAFA Productions hopes for a top-tier international festival premiere in 2027 and wants the film to be the country's entry for best international feature at the 100th Academy Awards; these are stated ambitions, not confirmed plans. Damodaran's earlier PNG-India co-production "Papa Buka" was the first film Papua New Guinea submitted to that Oscar category.
