Can twelve of 16mm film by Oskar Speck

Photographer Oskar Speck (1907 - 1993)

Date1930s

Object numberANMS0547[012]

NameFilm

MediumCellulose acetate reel of film

ClassificationsAudio visual material

Credit LineANMM Collection Nancy Jean Steele Bequest

Terms

DescriptionFilm contains scenes of dancing crowds, canoes and kayaks on the water and cooking on the beach as well as children eating and dancing, Papua New Guinea. 00:01 New Guinea women eating and preparing food. 01:10 Two women sitting on canoe, wearing sarongs. 01:23 View of huts on stilts, from the water. 01:50 Woman in a kayak, gliding on the water near the huts. 02:04 Woman wearing shell necklaces. 02:27 Fishing boat/canoe, coming into shore. Men wade out to help it ashore. Several dogs on the beach. 03:25 Woman washing a large leaf (?) in the water. Other women fetching water in buckets and walking it back up the logs/ladders of their huts. The people wear loincloths, white arm bands and white shell necklaces. 05:01 Wide shot of a different style of huts, on the ground (no stilts) and tall thatched roofs. Shots of people walking around between the huts and close ups of the roofs. 05:40 Large fishing boat on shore. 05:48 Close up of woman with her hair in an unusual style; it is split into two sections and each section is twisted to stick out, away from the head. Followed a shot of an older, grey haired woman. 06:14 Shot from the verandah of the huts, looking up river as a canoe comes in. 06:21 Shots of several men, emphasising their various hairstyles. 06:48 Beach, with palm trees on the right and mountainous headlands on the other side of the bay. 07:08 Stilted huts and an upturned canoe, with a dog standing on its beam as a man works on the hull. Close up shot of man working on hull with hammer. 08:17 Man hollowing out a canoe with a long axe; includes close up. 09:15 Woman washing (?) fibres in a hollow log, squishing out the moisture. 10:33 Various shots of two people cutting ferns and bark off felled tree trunks. Shots of grubs coming out of tree trunks where the bark has been removed. The two people digging the grubs out and removing more bark. She wears a sarong and he wears a loincloth. Both have long knives in hand. Two children handling the grubs. 14:40 Canoes on the river. People swimming, spear fishing. 15:30 A woman hollowing out a canoe, on the sea shore. 15:52 Preparing food. 16:16 Two people (men?) sitting on the prow of a canoe on shore. They wear white (shell, bone?) arm bands, belts and necklaces. They appear to be cutting and shelling oysters. 16:51 Cooking on a fire, on the beach. 17:10 Women feeding children and eating. The women wear sarongs. 17:50 Long shot of stilted huts on the beach, camera pans to the left, showing several large huts. 18:45 Children hugging, playing and eating (a fudgy meal, twisted upon two sticks from a communal spots). 20:32 Person on raft. 20:54 Children dancing and jumping on the beach – gradually joined by adults too. 22:40 Older women, wearing grass skirt and bib, standing next to tree trunk. Her hat is more visible in the close up shot. 23:00 Dancing along the path and through the trees with elaborate head dresses. 23:29 Small child (perhaps about 3 years old) holding his mother’s hand and wearing several strands of shells. 23:52 Close up of woman wearing a bib made from large bivalve shells. 24:02 End of film.