Port Moresby International Film Festival

Overview

The Port Moresby International Film Festival is Papua New Guinea's most important film festival. Founded in 2011 in Port Moresby, the country's capital, the festival presents Pacific and international cinema in the Pacific's most populous and culturally diverse developing nation.

Papua New Guinea has extraordinary cultural diversity -- over 800 languages are spoken in the country, representing nearly a third of the world's languages -- and this diversity creates both the richest possible material for documentary and ethnographic filmmaking and significant challenges for building a national cinema culture.

Melanesian cinema is among the world's most underrepresented filmmaking traditions, and the Port Moresby festival serves as the most important platform for this emerging creative community.

Key Sections

• PNG Film Competition -- new Papua New Guinean films
• Pacific Panorama -- films from Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, and other Pacific island nations
• International Program -- curated international films
• Documentary Program -- nonfiction features about PNG and the Pacific
• Filmmaking Workshops -- training for PNG filmmakers

What Filmmakers Should Know

The festival accepts submissions. For PNG and Pacific island filmmakers, the festival provides the most important regional platform in Melanesia. The festival's connections with Australian film organizations create pathways to Australian co-production and training resources.

Major Awards

• Best PNG Film -- jury prize
• Best Pacific Film
• Audience Award

Festival History

The Port Moresby International Film Festival was founded in 2011 as part of Papua New Guinea's investment in cultural infrastructure.

See Also

For Pacific cinema, see International Film Markets. For festival strategy, see Film Festival Strategy.