Field notes
News from the ground in Papua New Guinea
Recent shoots, rule changes for film crews, festival dates and behind-the-scenes stories — written from the field by Marc Dozier.
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Highlands festivals: when they happen and how to film them
Hundreds of groups in full ceremonial dress, painted faces and feather headdresses: the great shows are some of the most spectacular events in the Pacific. Here is when…
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On the river: filming the Sepik by dugout canoe
On the Sepik, the river is the road. Villages, spirit houses and lagoons are reached by canoe, and every shoot is planned around fuel, water levels and the…
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Why we speak Tok Pisin on every shoot
No interpreter between the crew and the people in front of the camera: what it changes for interviews, for trust and for the edit.
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Flying a drone in Papua New Guinea: what the rules mean for your shoot
Aerial shots are some of the most striking images of the country. Here is what the civil aviation rules allow, and what landowners expect.
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Filming in PNG in 2026: which visa does your crew need?
Tourist visas and visa on arrival are not an option for film crews. Here is how the journalist and film-maker visas work, what they cost and how long…
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Wilderness with Simon Reeve: in search of the tenkile tree kangaroo in Papua New Guinea
The second series of the BBC Two programme opened with an episode filmed deep in the rainforest of northern Papua New Guinea. Papua New Guinea Fixer advised the…
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Island of the Walking Sharks: filming for Discovery’s Shark Week
Can a shark walk? For Discovery Channel’s Shark Week, biologist Forrest Galante came to Papua New Guinea to film epaulette sharks moving across reef flats — and out…
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Inside the World’s Toughest Prisons: filming Bomana for Netflix
For the Netflix series presented by Raphael Rowe, a crew filmed inside Bomana, the maximum-security prison outside Port Moresby. Papua New Guinea Fixer organised the access, the permissions…
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