Tonten's Journey
★ 5 · 1974 · 87m · Drama
A Pidgin language drama based upon the emergence of Papua New Guinea as an independent nation. A young coastal man, Tonten, is searching for his missing brother. During his travels Tonten meets and marries a Chimbu girl in the highlands, and then he makes his way over the mountains to Port Moresby, the capital of PNG. After finding his brother, Tonten and his wife return to a peaceful life in his village. Wokabaut Bilong Tonten was the first feature film shot in Papua New Guinea with an all-Indigenous cast.
More Like This
Lukim Yu
2016
Melissa and Jonathan are worlds apart and when they meet, Jonathan's controversial ideas mean their conversations erupt in a fiery clash of minds.
More info →
Aliko and Ambai
2017 · ★ 8
Aliko & Ambai is a feature film about two young women facing the challenges of growing up in the beautiful Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. The challenges are significant: tribal conflict, poverty, bullying, domestic violence,and forced marriage. Aliko struggles to complete her education and Ambai searches to escape her abusive home and reunite with her biological father. They navigate the many obstacles in their lives and endeavour to build brighter futures for themselves, supported by the strength of friendship.
More info →
The Valley
1972 · ★ 5.8
Viviane, a French Consul's wife, is in New Guinea to find exotic feathers for export to Paris. She encounters four European travelers who are en route to "La Vallée": The Valley, high in the Guinean mountains, is shown on maps as 'obscured by clouds' and is beyond their previous experiences. Viviane joins their trek to find rare feathers and soon becomes entwined in their journey. Their extended stay with the Mapuga tribe brings a denouement between western and indigenous values before their final quest toward the 'Valley of the Gods'.
More info →
Tukana - Who Is Responsible?
1984 · ★ 6
Tells the story of a university drop out who returns to his village in Buka Passage, Bougainville. He drifts into rootlessness among bad companions, becoming progressively alienated from his parents and village life, with tragic results.
More info →
Wounded Warriors
2025
A poignant exploration of one man’s journey to break the violent chains of intergenerational trauma.
More info →
Farewell Rabaul
1954 · ★ 8.1
A squadron of Japanese fighter pilots realise that they are never going to win the war when they understand that Japanese military tactics have little regard for life. Seeking the companionship of any woman who will have them, they spend their days indulging in every fantasy in order to escape the overwhelming fear of death looming just over the horizon.
More info →
Tinpis Run
1991 · ★ 6.2
A man encounters colorful characters while driving a taxi in Papua New Guinea.
More info →
In a Savage Land
1999 · ★ 4.8
Two anthropologists married to each other go to an island off of Papua New Guinea for field research in pre-World War II. Eventually the war breaks out and many lives are disrupted and complicated.
More info →
Mr. Pip
2012 · ★ 6.2
As a war rages on in the province of Bougainville in Papua New Guinea, a young girl becomes transfixed by the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations, which is being read at school by the only white man in the village.
More info →
Ileksen: Politics in Papua New Guinea
1978 · ★ 6.2
A companion to Yumi yet, O’Rourke and Kildea’s Ileksen (derived from the English 'election’) documents Papua New Guinea’s first general election in 1977. The film records a broad cross-section of candidates who, without an extended media network at their disposal, rely on relentless campaigning, ingenuity and personal charisma to attract votes. Emphasising the divide between coastal people and highlanders, Ileksen looks at the election campaign, election day and the political manouvering that goes with the formation of a government.
More info →
Guavas and Bananas: Living Gay in Papua New Guinea
2014
In Papua New Guinea where homosexuality is illegal, Hanuabada village is one of few places where gay and transgender men can live in safety. Elsewhere gays are targeted and physical and sexual assaults are common.
More info →
Baruya Muka Archival
1991
A detailed record of the first stage male initiation ceremony of the Baruya of the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea. A group of nine to 12 year old boys are followed through their first initiation - from the last days with their families through their nose-piercing and other rituals and ordeals to the final feast given in their honour. It is a tough time, the beginning of a ten-year journey to warrior and manhood.
More info →