Papua New Guinea talent hits the world stage

By MALUM NALU
Papua New Guinea talent hits the world stage next month with the world premiere of Dschunglkind (Jungle Child), a German-made movie, which was shot in the jungles of Malaysia last year and features a large PNG cast of over 80 people.

Poster of the movie with Papua New Guinean McPolly Koima, who plays the chief of the Fayu, hugging young Sabine Kuegler (played by Stella Kunkat)

The US$25 million film will have its world premiere in Berlin on Feb 17 and will then be distributed throughout the world, including PNG, by Universal Pictures with English sub-titles added.
Trailers of the movies are available on YouTube and are also being widely-circulated on social networking sites such as Facebook by proud Papua New Guineans.
German film production company, UFA Cinema Germany, conducted auditions throughout PNG for actors and actresses and then brought them to Malaysia for three months last year to do the filming.
The film, based on a bestselling German book of the same name, tells the story of Sabine Kuegler and her missionary parents and how they go to live in a remote jungle area of West Papua, Indonesia, among the recently-discovered Fayu, a tribe untouched by modern civilisation.
It is her remarkable true story of a childhood lived out in the jungle, and the struggle to conform to European society that followed.
Dschunglkin, first published in 2005, is the story of how an exotic, touching, and unique childhood leads into the drama of a woman who longs to revisit her ‘homeland’ with the Fayu.
Group leaders David Taem and Calextus Simeon, who led the large troupe of PNG actors – men, women and children – to Malaysia last year, said today that it was an achievement that the whole country should be proud of.

David Taem (left) and Calextus Simeon show a trailer of Dschunglkind (Jungle Child), today.-Picture by MALUM NALU

Only a handful such as Markham Galut, McPolly Koima, Brown Sinbebe, Chris Urio and David Kaumara were experienced actors while the majority were novices.
An emotional Taem, who led the recruitment drive in 2009, said Jungle Child would show PNG talent on the world stage, as well as dispel what many “Doubting Thomases” said two years ago.
“To see this come to reality after three years of lobbying for UFA Cinema to shoot the movie inPNG, and use our actors, is a dream come true for me,” he said.
“There were many ‘Doubting Thomases’ who we have now proven wrong.
“We Papua New Guineans have some brilliant actors.
“This picture will be distributed by Universal Pictures and should set the foundation for PNG.
“It should contribute significantly towards the development of the film industry in PNG.”
Simeon, an established PNG filmmaker who helped the German team in production of the movie, said Jungle Child was a milestone for the film industry in this country and augered well for the future.
“For the first time, in terms of the PNG film industry on the international scene, you see Papua New Guineans right from the beginning to the end,” he said.
“They play a crucial part in the movie.
“The main story is there, but you see the sub-plots, which are based on the characters that evolve as the story unfolds.
“The most-amazing and heartwarming thing was the performance of the children, who really set a benchmark.
“I see it as a sacrifice for the next generation.
“It’s all about setting the scene for the next generation.”