PNG filmmaker Alana Hicks talks about creative storytelling, professional liars and shapeshifting

Born in Papua New Guinea and raised in Australia, award-winning writer and filmmaker Alana Hicks has built a career weaving resilience, humour, and identity into unforgettable stories.

From her prize-winning essay Medium Beige to her acclaimed short film Chicken, Alana reflects on growing up between two cultures, surviving moments of violence and racism, and turning those experiences into art.

In this episode of Stories from the Pacific, Alana speaks with Bobby McCumber about family, legacy, comedy as resistance, and what it means to call “home” a foreign country.