Mussau biopic sets Papua New Guinea shoot with Bijukumar Damodaran
NAFA Productions’ historical film will tell Taula Lovovoa’s story with a first-time cast from Mussau Island and five languages on screen.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
A historical biopic about Taula Lovovoa, one of Mussau Island’s first indigenous Seventh-day Adventist missionaries, is heading for a Papua New Guinea shoot, Variety reports.
Papua New Guinea-based NAFA Productions has unveiled Mussau: The First Song, a film set in the 1930s and centered on Lovovoa’s path of change and reconciliation. According to Variety, the story takes place on Mussau Island, which Australian colonial reports from that period described as the “Devil’s Paradise” and predicted would disappear within 20 years.
Bijukumar Damodaran, a three-time Indian National Film Award winner, will direct. His earlier feature Papa Buka, an India and Papua New Guinea co-production, became Papua New Guinea’s first official submission to the Academy Awards, Variety reported.
Parul Agrawal is producing Mussau: The First Song, with Noelene Taula Wunum as executive producer. The story came from Hilda Tanimia, while the screenplay is credited to Damodaran, Joses Imona and Jennifer Litau.
Litau is also overseeing Tok Pisin and vernacular-language translation. Yedhu Radhakrishnan will serve as cinematographer, and Davis Manuel will edit the film.
Five languages and an all-Mussau cast
The production will feature Mussau, Emira, Agarabi, Tok Pisin and English, with several of those languages classified as endangered, according to Variety. The film’s team sees the use of native speakers as part of a wider push to preserve language.
Every cast member is from Mussau, and all will be appearing on screen for the first time, Variety reported.
Agrawal told Variety that the film “belongs to the people of Mussau and to Papua New Guinea,” adding that the team is working with the local community, historians and cultural advisers to tell the story authentically.
Wunum said the project brings together filmmakers, government institutions and Mussau residents, and said she hopes Papua New Guinea will be able to present the finished film proudly to the world.
Damodaran returns to Papua New Guinea
Damodaran told Variety that his work on Papa Buka introduced him to Papua New Guinea’s cultural range, traditions and histories, and left him wanting to return for another story rooted inside the country.
He described Mussau: The First Song as that return, saying the film will highlight indigenous cultures through language, rituals, music, landscapes and traditions. Damodaran also said he is drawn to stories of people pushed to the edges of history, and described Taula’s life as part of that tradition.
Tanimia told Variety that Lovovoa’s story has been carried through generations in Mussau’s oral traditions, making the screen adaptation both an honor and a responsibility.
Imona said the writing team has tried to balance historical accuracy with cinematic storytelling while staying faithful to Mussau’s people, culture and history. Litau said language sits at the center of the film, both for authenticity and for preserving Papua New Guinea’s cultural heritage.
Filming on Mussau Island is being targeted for late September. Variety reports that the movie is being made for international audiences and is based on a chapter of Papua New Guinea history that remains little known outside the country.
This story draws on original reporting from Variety.