Lip Synch a Challenge for The Jesus Film in Lunaba

From SPARK

The Jesus film was recently produced in Lunaba*. It requires that each time someone speaks, the Lunaba translation has very close to the same number of syllables as in English, so the mouth moves on screen in synch with the dubbed voice. Matching the sentence lengths can be a fun puzzle at times, and an extreme challenge at others! In English, “high priest” has two syllables, but the Lunaba word for high priest, "sarakalasebaga kuntigiw," has eleven syllables! We have to reword ideas to end up with the right number of syllables.

*Pseudonym

Date: 2001 Country: West Africa

Language: Lunaba People Group: Lunaba

Author: Michelle Petersen

Media type: video cassette

Keywords: Africa, Lunaba, the Jesus film

Religion: a major non-Christian religion

Photo(s)/Drawing(s): Two photos in Michelle Petersen's 27 July 2001 newsletter