Indigenous Missionary Biopic ‘Mussau: The First Song’ to Shoot in Papua New Guinea With Indian National Film Award Winner Bijukumar Damodaran Directing (EXCLUSIVE)
A historical film centring on Taula Lovovoa, an early indigenous Christian missionary from Mussau Island in Papua New Guinea, enters production under director Bijukumar Damodaran, an Indian filmmaker whose previous Papua New Guinea project became the nation's first Academy Awards submission. The narrative follows Lovovoa's personal journey during the 1930s, a period when Australian colonial authorities had dismissed the island as doomed to disappear.
The production prioritises community-driven storytelling by casting exclusively from Mussau residents, all making their screen debuts, and incorporates five regional languages—several of which face extinction. Producers underscore their commitment to both artistic authenticity and cultural preservation, collaborating with local historians and community advisers to bring to international audiences a chapter of Papua New Guinea's history that has largely remained unknown outside the region.
- Papua New Guinea-based production chronicles an indigenous Seventh-day Adventist missionary from the 1930s, directed by Indian filmmaker Bijukumar Damodaran
- Features entirely local cast making debuts and incorporates five regional languages, several endangered, as part of cultural and linguistic preservation efforts