A Life Commited to Papua New Guinea

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Description

The 23 March 2018 issue of the Weekend Courier (PNG) pays tribute to Chris Owen in the following terms: “I do not know of one other culture whose children will inherit a film heritage such as the one Chris Owen has given to the people of Papua New Guinea.”

Pascale Bonnemère has transcribed a series of long conversations she had with Chris Owen, between 2013 and 2017, which paint a vivid picture of the life and work of this dedicated author of the most famous films on the country (e.g. The Red Bowmen, Man without Pigs, Tukana and Bridewealth for a Goddess). Completed by contextual information and photographs from his archives, the present volume constitutes a valuable testimony on a key period in the history of Papua New Guinea as experienced by a committed left-wing expatriate who spent almost 40 years of his life there and became a child of the country.

Book data

Subtitle

Conversations with Christopher Owen— filmmaker

Series Title

Author

ISBN

Binding

Paperback

No. of Pages

352

Size

About the author

Pascale Bonnemère is a senior researcher in social anthropology at the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and a member of the Centre for Research and Documentation in Oceania (CREDO) in Marseille. She has been doing fieldwork in the Fringe Highlands of Papua New Guinea for more than 30 years. Her main research focuses on gender, kinship and life-cycle rituals. Her last book, Acting for Others: Relational Transformations in Papua New Guinea, was published by HAU Books in 2018.

Table of Contents

New Guinea Communications                                                                                                    ix
Acknowledgement                                                                                                                            xi
Foreword                                                                                                                                               xv
Photos                                                                                                                                                   xxiii
Info Boxes                                                                                                                                           xxvii

1. Introduction ………………………………………………….1
2.  I moved into Cinematography to pursue
a revolutionary cause …………………………………..13
A schooling between England and Australia ………16
Odd jobs …………………………………………………………….21
Living in King’s Cross …………………………………………23
Sailing back to Britain ………………………………………..29
Graduating from the Birmingham College
of Art and Design……………………………………………….35
Going back to Australia ……………………………………..42
Looking for a job ………………………………………………..44
3.  I was the team leader of myself ……………………47
Working at the Tourist Board ……………………………..47
At the Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies …….60
4.  I always sit down with the community
and explain what the film is going to be ………81
Filming Tighten the Drums just
post-Independence …………………………………………….83
Gogodala: A cultural revival? ………………………………91
The Red Bowmen ………………………………………………101
Malagan Labadama: A tribute to Buk Buk …………117
CONTENTS
5.  Tukana was my first drama film:
Bougainville stories …………………………………………………… 129
Thinking about a sequel to Tukana ……………………………………. 139
BRA, the Bougainville story or In search of Francis:
Another uncompleted film project ………………………………………143
Siapan ikam, ol waitman i go pinis!:
An impeded feature film ……………………………………………………..153
6.  My films do speak for themselves ……………………………… 157
Man without Pigs …………………………………………………………………158
Bridewealth for a Goddess ……………………………………………………167
Ramu Pawa. A diary of Yonki Dam………………………………………172
Betelnut Bisnis ……………………………………………………………………..178
7.  Working with other filmmakers in the country …………. 187
“Dennis O’Rourke and I had a similar sort of vibes” ……………187
Japanese friendships ……………………………………………………………203
8.  Skul Bilong Wokim Piksa ………………………………………….. 223
Creation of the Skul in Goroka ……………………………………………225
Partnership with the Ateliers Varan …………………………………….228
9.  The role of the NFI is to be a national film institute …… 247
Housing issues …………………………………………………………………….247
Staff and management issues ……………………………………………….252
A vision for the NFI …………………………………………………………….255
Making films ……………………………………………………………………….258
Preserving and archiving films …………………………………………….263
10.  Conversations about filmmaking in Papua
New Guinea, past and present …………………………………… 269
Changes in filmmaking because of changes in
technology…………………………………………………………………………..280
Film custody ……………………………………………………………………….287
Past and future of film and television in Papua
New Guinea ………………………………………………………………………..290
11.  Living with memories ……………………………………………….. 299
CHRIS OWEN’S FILMOGRAPHY …………………………….. 307
REFERENCES……………………………………………………….. 309