Indian filmmaker Bijukumar Damodaran directs the $4.5 million period drama, shot on remote Mussau Island and in Goroka, which is eyeing a 2027 festival premiere.
\n\nPapua New Guinea’s most expensive film to date, the $4.5 million historical drama “Mussau: The First Song,” has wrapped principal photography after a 40-day shoot across two provinces.
\n\nFilming took place on Mussau Island in New Ireland Province and in Goroka, in Eastern Highlands Province. PNG-based producer NAFA Productions celebrated the wrap at a Thanksgiving event in Port Moresby on Saturday. Government figures at the event included Belden Norman Namah, Minister for Arts, Culture and Tourism; Chief Secretary Ivan Pomaleu; and Chief Censor Jim Abani.
\n\nIndian director Bijukumar Damodaran, a three-time Indian National Film Award winner, is at the helm. Parul Agrawal produces, and Noelene Taula Wunum is executive producer.
\n\nInspired by a true story and set in the 1930s, the film centers on Taula Livovoa, a young islander who walks away from tribal violence and takes up a faith that is new to him. His choice sets off a sweeping social change that the producers rank among the South Pacific’s most remarkable.
\n\nThe dialogue is in six languages: Mussau, Emirau, Agarabi, Gadsup, Tok Pisin…
Original source: https://variety.com/