The Sharkcallers of Kontu

Australia, 1982

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In a few villages on the west coast of Papua New Guinea a handful of men still practise the ancient ritual of sharkcalling. Colonisation and economic exploitation is slowly bringing to a close this spectacular and dangerous ritual. Dennis O’Rourke lived with the people to learn about sharkcalling and to understand the forces affecting their culture. Edited by Stewart Young. Photographed by Dennis O’Rourke and Chris Owen.

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Collection

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Credits

producer/director

Dennis O'Rourke

production company

Institute of Papua New Guinea Studies

O'Rourke and Associates Filmakers

Duration

00:54:15:00

Production places

Australia

Production dates

1982

Collection metadata

ACMI Identifier

017351

Language

English

Audience classification

Subject categories

Animals & Wildlife → Fishes

Animals & Wildlife → Sharks

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Ethnology - Papua New Guinea

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Papua New Guinea

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Papua New Guinea - Social life and customs

Anthropology, Ethnology, Exploration & Travel → Rites and ceremonies

Documentary

Documentary → Documentary films - Australia

Economics, Philosophy, Politics, Religion & Sociology → Imperialism

History → History

Hobbies, Recreation & Sport → Fishing

Places → Papua New Guinea

Short films

Short films → Short films - Australia

Sound/audio

Sound

Colour

Holdings

16mm film; Limited Access Print (Section 2)

VHS; Access Print (Section 1)

16mm film; Preservation Print (Section 5)

16mm film; Access Print (Section 1)

Please note: this archive is an ongoing body of work. Sometimes the credit information (director, year etc) isn’t available so these fields may be left blank; we are progressively filling these in with further research.

Cite this work on Wikipedia

If you would like to cite this item, please use the following template: {{cite web |url=https://acmi.net.au/works/78669--the-sharkcallers-of-kontu/ |title=The Sharkcallers of Kontu |author=Australian Centre for the Moving Image |access-date=21 September 2023 |publisher=Australian Centre for the Moving Image}}