Namibian Women in Cinema, Visual Media and Screen Culture

Namibian Women in Cinema

Visual Media and Screen Culture

Namibian women in cinema culture, not unlike other African countries, are comprised of practitioners who live in Namibia, as well as in the various diasporic locations--both on the continent and beyond. Among the women who are working to tell, produce, promote and exhibit African stories are South African-based Bridget Pickering, veteran producer with strong ties to Southern African film production, Marinda Stein, the vice chairperson of the Filmmakers Association of Namibia, German-based Naomi Beukes-Meyer, telling stories from Berlin via the webisode series, The Centre, and the late Oshosheni Hiveluah, co-founder of the Windhoek-Harare-based company, Digitalafros.

In 2012 in cooperation with Sister Namibia, a women's rights awareness raising NGO, the German-founded AfricAvenir, organized the Women Filmmakers Get-together Breakfast featuring the works of Zimbabwean filmmaker/writer Tsitsi Dangarembga. Moreover, prominent Namibian women in the diverse sectors of society are invited to the question-and-answer discussions after the screenings of the AfricAvenir film series.

In 2014, AfriAvenir collaborated with the Franco Namibia Cultural Centre (FNNC) to sponsor bi-monthly film screenings. The goal of the initiative was to promote public awareness in Namibia about Namibian film heritage. In line with the objective of gender parity, “Women in Namibian Film” was a feature of the May event which included: Uno's World by Bridget Pickering, 100 Bucks by Oshosheni Hiveluah, and Tjiraa by Krischka Stoffels.

In 2013, RedHot Film Productions launched a Web Series on Namibian Women. The series, produced and directed by Marinda Stein, is a celebration of Namibian women, who are highlighted through a series of short interviews. The diverse women "share their stories of triumph, courage, hope, faith, love and journeys of light." 'The Women of Our World Series' profiled 13 women, including :  Johanna Benson, Paralympic Medalist; Antoinette de Chavonnes Vrugt, wife, mother, chef and author of "My Hungry Heart"; Lize Ehlers, performer, poet, actress and mother; Lizette Feris, the Child Right's Offier for the Media Institute of the welfare organization; Oshosheni Hiveluah, filmmaker, poet, daughter and sister; Marie Jeanne Ndimbira, advocate for quality competency based education, co-founder of the Physically Active Youth program; Dr. Helena Ndume, winner of the United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize for her sight-restoring work in Namibia.

Desiree Kahikopo, an alumna of the Talents Durban 2018, won best newcomer director of best film script and audience choice award at the Namibian Theatre and Film Awards 2019 for her debut film White Line.

Report by Beti Ellerson

Following are articles published in the African Women in Cinema Blog:

In Memory of Namibian filmmaker Oshosheni Hiveluah

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2019/10/in-memory-of-namibian-filmmaker.html

FESPACO 2015 – Marinda Stein: “Coming Home” | "le retour" and Women of the World Series

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2015/02/fespaco-2015-marinda-stein-coming-home.html

International Images International Film Festival for Women (IIFF) 2014 report by Oshosheni Hiveluah

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/09/international-images-international-film.html

Naomi Beukes-Meyer (Germany-Namibia) launches crowdfunding for the 2nd Episode of THE CENTRE Web Series

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/09/naomi-beukes-meyer-germany-namibia.html

AfricAvenir and the FNCC present Namibian Women in Film

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2014/05/africavenir-and-fncc-present-namibian.html

Naomi Beukes-Meyer: a Namibian woman telling stories from Berlin

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2013/11/naomi-beukes-meyer-namibian-woman.html

Women Matter at "African Perspectives", AfricAvenir Namibia Film Series 2012

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2012/04/women-matter-at-african-perspectives.html

Oshosheni Hiveluah: A Portrait

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2011/03/oshosheni-hiveluah-portrait.html

African women, cinema and LGBT subectivities | Les femmes africaines, le cinéma et des subjectivités LGBT

African women, cinema and LGBT subectivities | Les femmes africaines, le cinéma et des subjectivités LGBT

A key goal of the African Women in Cinema Blog is to feature current research and critical discourse, through interviews, conference proceedings and analyses on relevant topics. Following is a selection of articles regarding LGBT African women or by African women filmmakers on the subject of LGBT subjectivities that have been published on the Blog.

L'un des principaux objectifs du blog des femmes africaines dans le cinéma (African Women in Cinema Blog) est de présenter les informations courantes à travers des interviews, des actes de conférences et des analyses sur des sujets pertinents. Vous trouverez ci-dessous une sélection d'articles sur les femmes africaines LGBT ou des oeuvres faites par des réalisatrices africaines sur le sujet des subjectivités LGBT qui ont été publiées sur le Blog.


Maryam Touzani: Le Bleu du Caftan | The Blue Caftan. https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2023/01/maryam-touzani-le-bleu-du-caftan-blue.html Halim and Mina, who have been married for a long time, run a traditional caftan shop in the medina of Salé, Morocco. The couple has always lived with Halim's secret, his homosexuality. However, Mina's illness and the arrival of a young apprentice will upset this balance. United in their love, each will help the other to face their fears.

Josza Anjembe : Baltringue | Freed - Towards a self-interrogation | Vers un auto-questionnement. https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2020/05/recent-films-josza-anjembe-baltringue.html.Through this film about homosexual men in prison, Josza Anjembe was able to confront her interiorized lesbophobia and her own homosexuality.

Claudine Ndimbira : Support her film project “Living like a shadow” about the LGBTQ community in Rwanda. https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2018/12/claudine-ndimbira-support-her-film.html

Claudine Ndimbira had this to say about the film project: With this project “Living like a shadow” I want to give the voice to LGBTQ community members in Rwanda to tell their stories, what they have been through, what they wish their lives could be but also to the society so that they say what is the reason why they think being gay is a problem to them.

Rafiki: to our forbidden love! | à nos amours interdites ! Cannes 2018 (analysis/analyse, Falila Gbadamassi - Africiné)

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2018/05/rafiki-to-our-forbidden-love-nos-amours.html

A film about love, between two high school girls, which caused its director [Wanuri Kahiu] to be threatened with imprisonment in Kenya. Rafiki, a remarkable drama, is one of three African films in competition at the Un Certain Regard.

Rafiki by/de Wanuri Kahiu : Cannes 2018 - Un Certain Regard https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2018/04/rafiki-byde-wanuri-kahiu-cannes-2018-un.html
Rafiki is a love story about Kena and Ziki who live in a housing estate in Nairobi. The girls are unlikely friends and their fathers are rivaling politicians. When they fall in love and the community find out, the girls are forced to choose between love and safety.

Nneka Onuorah launches a crowdsourcing campaign for "Rotten Fruit" film project
https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2017/05/nneka-onuorah-launches-crowdsourcing.html

Rotten Fruit centers on the relationship between the LBGTQI community and the attitudes of the Black Church in the United States.

The African Women in Cinema Blog spotlights Nneka Onuorah and her film “The Same Difference” during Women’s History Month

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2016/03/the-african-women-in-cinema-blog.html

The documentary explores lesbians who discriminate against other lesbians based on gender roles and heteronormative notions of femininity and masculinity.

FESPACO 2017: Normalium by/de Siam Marley (Cote d’Ivoire)

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2017/02/fespaco-2017-normalium-byde-siam-marley.html

In love with a man in a world where the norm is homosexuality, sixteen-year-old Charlotte will have to be exorcised for her "deviant" behavior. An exorcism authorised by her two mothers.

Amoureuse d’un homme dans un monde où la norme est l’homosexualité, Charlotte, 16 ans, va se faire exorciser pour son comportement "déviant". Un exorcisme approuvé par ses deux mères.

When Alice Diop takes us "towards masculine tenderness" | Quand Alice Diop nous entraîne "vers la tendresse" au masculin by/de Sylvie Braibant – tv5monde

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2016/03/when-alice-diop-takes-us-towards.html

Understanding lesbophobia in West Africa: sixteen women’s voices | Seize voix de femmes pour comprendre la lesbophobie en Afrique de l’Ouest

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2014/12/understanding-lesbophobia-in-west.html

Frieda Ekotto: For an endogenous critique of representations of African lesbian identity in visual culture and literature

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2013/11/frieda-ekotto-for-endogenous-critique.html

Frieda Ekotto : Pour une critique endogène sur les représentations visuelles et littéraires de l’identité lesbienne africaine

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2013/11/frieda-ekotto-pour-une-critique.html

"Difficult Love" by Zanele Muholi

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2015/09/difficult-love-by-zanele-muholi-and.html

Visual activist Zanele Muholi of South Africa, repositions the African subject that is often represented by others, reclaiming her own space and that of other black lesbians and black South Africans as a whole. Telling her own story and taking ownership of her subject-position, she returns the gaze, re-writes the script that has often left black lesbians and Africans in general without a voice.

Zanele Muholi: Some Prefer Cake - Bologna Lesbian Film Festival - Italy

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2012/07/some-prefer-cake-le-festival-du-film.html

Zanele Muholi: Some Prefer Cake - Le Festival du film lesbien de Bologne - Italie 2012

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2012/07/some-prefer-cake-le-festival-du-film.html

Cheryl Dunye's "Black is Blue" Kickstarter campaign success

http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2013/10/cheryl-dunyes-black-is-blue-kickstarter.html

Marie Kâ : L'Autre Femme | The Other Woman (Senegal)

http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2013/11/marie-ka-lautre-femme-other-woman.html

Naomi Beukes-Meyer (Germany-Namibia) launches crowdfunding for the 2nd Episode of THE CENTRE Web Series

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2014/09/naomi-beukes-meyer-germany-namibia.html

Naomi has always felt that there is a distinct lack of film and television dramas highlighting first and second generation African female and, in particular, lesbian experience.

Wanuri Kahiu: "Homosexuality is not unafrican; what is unafrican is homophobia"

http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2013/08/homosexuality-is-not-unafrican-what-is.html

Boukary Sawadogo discusses his research: Three marginal figures in the cinemas of Francophone West Africa - the mad person, the homosexual, the woman

http://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2013/08/boukary-sawadogo-discusses-his-research.html

Sophie Kaboré’s Quest: Exploring African homosexualities

https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.fr/2010/07/sophie-kabores-quest.html

“The film is about Abdou, the oldest son of a well-respected businessman, who, after a long stay abroad returns home. He has lived other experiences that brought about a psychological and sexual transformation. It is about a transvestite who returns to his social and cultural milieu, a milieu that is horrified by this practice.

OTHER LINKS | AUTRES LIENS

Kis Keya, creator of "Extranostro", a 5-episode new-media series about the gay black community: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCE4GYm5GxQD1yzpPpbBav8Q

Black Gay Male Spectatorship in the United States: The Reception of the Films Dakan and Woubi Cheri: https://africanwomenincinema.blogspot.com/2009/06/black-gay-male-spectatorship-dakan-woubi-cheri.html

Naomi Beukes-Meyer (Germany-Namibia) launches crowdfunding for the 2nd Episode of THE CENTRE Web Series

Naomi Beukes-Meyer, still from promo

Berlin-based Namibian writer and director Naomi Beukes-Meyer, created "The Centre" webisode series in order to relate the experiences of African women who are trying to deal with the day-to-day life in Berlin. The first episode, “I’m still down here”, was received with much enthusiasm by online viewers. She has launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign for the second episode “What to do with the Silence.”

Indiegogo crowdfunding description:

The series is written by Naomi-Beukes-Meyer, herself an African woman who has been living in the German capital for nearly 20 years.  

Though there is a large African community in Europe, Naomi has always felt that there is a distinct lack of film and television dramas highlighting first and second generation African female and, in particular, lesbian experience in her adopted country and it was this that spurred her on to write the first episode of The Centre two years ago.

Read also on the African Women in Cinema Blog: Naomi Beukes-Meyer: a Namibian woman telling stories from Berlin 

Naomi Beukes-Meyer: a Namibian woman telling stories from Berlin

Naomi Beukes-Meyer is a Berlin-based Namibian writer and director. Her most recent work "The Centre" is a webisode series relating the experiences of African women who are trying to deal with the day-to-day life in Berlin. She talks about why she created the series and her future projects.

Naomi you are Namibian based in Germany and your stories relate your experiences in this environment. Talk a bit about your background, and your work as a writer and director.

I started writing while working as a Stage Manager at the National Theatre of Namibia. My first story was about the teenage pregnancies in Namibia. I always wanted to write about what happened to the women and girls around me, especially the stories that no one talked about. While working at the Theatre, I wrote and directed some children's plays. Currently, I'm still writing and developing plays with children at the school where I'm teaching in Berlin. Through my work as a teacher at a bilingual school in Berlin, I come across people from all corners of the world. It intrigues me what the big pull is to Berlin, so I started asking questions and ended up with a lot of, sometimes interesting, sometimes heartbreaking stories.

The first episode of the series The Centre has been released recently. Discuss the concept of the series and what motivated you to create it.

As a Namibian Citizen, I myself had a lot of trouble with Foreign Affairs, finding a job and getting accepted, so, out of frustration, I started to write about my experiences. This is how The Centre started. With this series, I would like to tell about the women, especially the African women, moving to Berlin, for one reason or the other and the difficulties they have to deal with every day between the different cultures. I am very happy that it was possible to release the first episode of The Centre - "I'm still down here". This was only possible with the help of a group of professional film- and theatre people from all over Europe.

What has been the reception in Germany? Do you also have a Namibian audience?

The response up to now has been very positive and I'm especially very happy about a growing Namibian audience.

It is disseminated as a Webisode on video sharing platforms on the Internet, what have been results in terms of viewers and reactions?

I am also overwhelmed by the amount of viewers in the short time we have been online. I think for The Centre, the web is definitely the way to go because we can reach a lot of people all over the world.

Will the series continue? In what form? What are future projects.

The Centre will definitely continue. I am in the process of looking for funding possibilities to shoot the rest of the episodes, already in planning. In the meantime, I'm very excited to be part of the One Billion Rising For Justice Campaign 2014 to end violence against women and girls, started by Eve Ensler.

Interview with Naomi Beukes-Meyer by Beti Ellerson, November 2013.

Images: The Centre Series

Links:

The Centre Series: http://thecentreseries.com