Young Papua New Guinea digital entrepreneurs are developing followings in film and podcasts. They are bringing something relatively new to the country. In the second part of the series, Business Advantage PNG talks with digital filmmaker Mellah Kilangit and podcaster Elvina Ogil.

Digital filmmaker Mellah Kilangit Credit: Mellah Kilangit

Mellah Kilangit is a digital filmmaker based in Port Moresby.

A computer science graduate from Unitech, Kilangit never planned to be a filmmaker.

But eight years ago, a cousin asked him to shoot and produce a music video—and he hasn’t looked back.

‘I was working in the mines and I would work on films during my breaks.

‘I am entirely self-taught. I went online and learnt the basics and grew from there.

‘Just pick up a camera and go online and learn as much as you can’

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Kilangit does music videos and films for politicians, but he is passionate about using digital filmmaking to document the lives of ordinary Papua New Guineans.

‘Film is a medium to say the things you need to say.

‘We have 800-plus cultures and tribes in PNG—there are so many legends and stories I would like to tell through film.’

Kilangit posts his passion projects to YouTube.

At the moment, he believes there is not enough investment in filmmaking in PNG, but he believes that shouldn’t stop those interested in pursuing it.

‘Just pick up a camera and go online and learn as much as you can,’ he advises.

Podcasting

Podcaster Elvina Ogil Credit: Elvina Ogil

Elvina Ogil is a podcaster based in Sydney, Australia.

Born in Mount Hagen, and a lawyer by trade, Ogil is a massive fan of podcasts.

So much so, that last year she decided to launch PNG’s first-ever feminist podcast, Who Asked Her.

‘There aren’t enough spaces for intelligent conversations about the issues affecting PNG women, and the role we play in our societies,’ she says.

‘I wanted to change the narrative.’

‘Podcasts are a new medium for PNG’

Lauded by Marie Claire Australia as one of the top podcasts for women by women in 2018, Ogil’s listenership is mostly international.

But she has also had a lot of positive reception from her home country as well.

‘I had messages from people in Vanimo telling me they were buying extra data to listen to it.

‘Podcasts are a new medium for PNG, but they require less data than video and can be listened to anywhere.’

Active on Twitter, Ogil believes there is enormous scope for political podcasts in PNG.

She says that people shouldn’t be put off by the technical side of things.

‘It’s just me, my laptop and a microphone in my apartment with a guest.

‘If you think your conversation is worth having take the plunge—people just want good content.’

Read the first part of our three-part series here.