An episode of Jenke ohne Grenzen, presented by Jenke von Wilmsdorff and broadcast on RTL+ (then TVNOW) in October 2019. It travels from East New Britain to the Sepik and the Highlands, and we organised the whole shoot.
By Marc Dozier · Updated November 2026
A German story in East New Britain
Around Rabaul, Jenke met a woman who still speaks Unserdeutsch, “Our German”, also called Rabaul Creole German. The language was born during German colonial rule, among children of mixed descent at the Catholic mission of Vunapope. It is the only creole that developed from colonial German, and today only a few elderly speakers remain, most of them in Australia.
The crew also climbed Tavurvur, the active volcano that overlooks Rabaul.
From the Sepik to the Highlands
On the Sepik River, the crew filmed life around Kanganaman: the market, dugout canoes, the haus tambaran, woodcarvers, and men who went through the crocodile skin ritual.
Near Goroka, in the Eastern Highlands, Jenke met the Mudmen of the Asaro valley, known for their clay masks, and men who practise cane swallowing, a tradition of the Bena area. A long, smoothed cane is passed down to the stomach and drawn out again to cleanse the body. It begins as a male initiation, and some men keep the practice all their lives.
In Simbu Province, at Kagai village, Jenke also joined a singsing with the Pagau.
Two months later, the same shoot again
The shoot was moved from July to September 2019. For a crew of six, that meant rebuilding the whole organisation: every domestic flight, every hotel, and the vehicle reserved for the crew.
From A to Z
Papua New Guinea Fixer handled the entire shoot: editorial advice, filming permits, fixing on location, security, translation, accommodation, food, vehicles, logistics and generators. Marc Dozier stayed with the crew throughout, and was also the film’s drone pilot.
From the production manager
Marc handled everything with incredible precision, deep local knowledge, and absolute calm under pressure.
Tim OlechProduction manager · Read on LinkedIn →
What producers can take from it
- Expect dates to move. Rebooking flights, hotels and transport for six people is a project in itself. A fixer who built the first plan can rebuild it quickly.
- Look beyond the classic sequences. The Sepik has been filmed many times. East New Britain’s German colonial past is rarely told, and it speaks directly to a German audience.
- One person on the ground, many roles. Permits, logistics, translation and drone work handled by the same fixer keep the crew small.
More on lead times and paperwork in our guide to filming permits in Papua New Guinea.
The film
| Original title | Jenke ohne Grenzen: Papua-Neuguinea |
| Series | Jenke ohne Grenzen, season 1, episode 3 |
| Broadcaster | RTL+ (then TVNOW), 3 October 2019 |
| Presenter | Jenke von Wilmsdorff |
| Production | Fabiola GmbH |
| Producer | Silvia Ströhmer |
| Head of production | Joaquín Aparicio-Staubach |
| Coordination | André Schneider, Tim Olech |
| Filmed | September 2019 |
| Length | 60 min |
| Our role | Full organisation: permits, security, translation, accommodation, food, transport · drone pilot |
Planning a shoot with a German crew?
Islands, rivers, Highlands: we plan the route, the flights and the alternatives, and stay with the crew on the ground.