NFSA Restores: Tukana – Dropping out

Tukana – Husat I Asua (Who’s to Blame) tells the story of Tukana (Albert Toro), a university dropout who returns to his village in Buka Passage, Bougainville. His parents want him to marry Josephine, a schoolteacher, and settle down, but Tukana rejects the life laid out for him and walks away, searching for something more. 

Though set in Papua New Guinea’s North Solomons Province in the early 1980s, Tukana’s struggle with tradition, identity and youthful disillusionment is timeless and universal. Albert Toro is the only cast member in Tukana with paid acting experience, and he has a relaxed chemistry with the non-professional who plays his friend here. The scene has added interest for incorporating everyday details of PNG village life, like spearfishing.

Widely regarded as Papua New Guinea’s most important feature film, Tukana – Husat I Asua (1982) was born from a groundbreaking collaboration between Australian director Chris Owen – a driving force behind the creation of the National Film Institute (NFI) in Goroka – and Albert Toro, the trailblazing writer, director, actor and MP hailed as the father of PNG cinema. 

Now digitally restored by the NFSA in partnership with Spectrum Films, Tukana has been gifted to the NFI to mark 50 years of Papua New Guinea’s independence in 2025. The restoration is part of a four-year co-design project with the NFI, supported by the Australian Government’s International Cultural Diplomacy and Arts Fund – helping preserve and give access to PNG’s rich film heritage.

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