Tinpis Run is often referred to as Papua New Guinea's first fiction film. Although the first movies made by Indigenous people, particularly in the capital Port Moresby, date back to the 1970s, Tinpis Run is the cult film of Papua New Guinea cinema. This road movie in Tok Pisin with English and French subtitles, directed in 1991 by Pengau Nengo, was a success internationally. The film was nominated at the Locarno International Film Festival and the Valladolid International Film Festival. - It received a special mention at the Rotterdam International Film Festival in 1991 as well as the Best Actor Award at the Balafon Festival in 1996. So, this week, let's go on the road of this movie full of humour and poetry! Read More
In December 2013, the president of the New Guinea parliament, Theodore Zibang Zurenuoc, caused a stir in the country. Armed with an axe, he attacked the lintel adorning the parliament's frontispiece, irreversibly damaging the sculptures that adorned it. Although many voices were raised in Papua New Guinea to comment on this episode, not all of them were opposed to the president's actions, thus highlighting the debates that are shaking the country and its relationship with Christianity. Read More
A shopping bag. A handbag. A school bag. A mobile phone pouch. A fashionable accessory. A baby's cot. A valuable gift. A travel souvenir. An identity marker. An electoral propaganda support. A dance accessory.
In New Guinea, there is one type of object that can perform all these functions: the bilum.
How can I describe a father’s suffering who is separated from his wife and children for six years?
How can I describe a mother witnessing her small kids growing up for six years in a prison camp?
How can I describe a young man who was full of life but has lost his opportunity to continue his education, to find love, has lost his health, his family, his hope, has lost many opportunities that you take for granted?1
Behrouz Boochani, TedxSydney Writing is an act of resistance.
“It is high time that the people of this country held their heads high… and have pride in their country. If not now, when ?”1
On February 26, 2021, Michael Somare, one of the most important Pacific personalities of the 20th century passed away in Port Moresby after a long illness. Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea for seventeen years and four different terms, he was considered the father of the Papuan nation and architect of the country's independence. Read More
As a new lockdown begins in France, many envy Australians and New Zealanders who have been able to enjoy bars, restaurants and even nightclubs for several weeks. However, the situation is far from being the same in the whole Pacific, and is even worrying in places like Papua New Guinea (PNG). This week we take a look at the latest news on this health crisis.
Un substitut de tête trophée à quoi cela correspond ? L’anthropologue suisse Paul Wirz écrit un article à ce sujet mais conclue que le terme peut être difficilement défini.1 Lors de son séjour le long de la côte sud de l’île de Nouvelle-Guinée, il collecte un important corpus de substituts de têtes trophées qui sont le point de départ de réflexion de ses articles. Ce corpus établi sous cette bannière de substituts rassemble cependant des sculptures tout à fait variées. La plupart sont réalisées en bois ou plus rarement en tapa.. Ces objets posent la question de la classification et la catégorisation. Comment définir ces objets ? Pourquoi utiliser le terme de substitut de tête trophée s’il est impossible de clairement le définir ? Ces questions prennent sens lorsque l’on place ces substituts de têtes trophées dans un contexte plus large. Read More
Presque cinquante ans après que les guerriers du Mont Hagen ont détruit leurs armes par le feu1, la vallée de la Wahgi, dans les Hautes-Terres orientales de Nouvelle-Guinée, voit le nouvel essor des boucliers de guerre qui avaient quasiment cessé d’être construits ou avaient été saisis par les policiers.2 Nous sommes au milieu des années 1980. La région est le théâtre de violents conflits locaux3 qui encouragent la reprise de la production, avec parfois des changements révélateurs dans leur réalisation : Read More
« Il n’y a rien de plus étrange,
dans une terre étranger,
que l’étranger qui vient
la visiter »
Dennis O’Rourke
« Imaginez-vous soudain, débarquant, entouré tout votre attirail, seul sur une grève tropicale, avec, tout à côté, un village d’indigènes, tandis que l’embarcation qui vous a amené cingle au large pour bientôt disparaître. »1
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