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

In Memory of Namibian filmmaker Oshosheni Hiveluah

In Memory of Namibian filmmaker Oshosheni Hiveluah

I have the sad news of the passing of Oshosheni Hiveluah on 09 October 2019. Let us give tribute to her, her work and her contribution to cinema. She will be dearly missed.

I am republishing excerpts of the interview with her on the African Women in Cinema Blog and her report of the 2014 International Images International Film Festival for Women (IIFF), also on the Blog.

Well in terms of growing up, I was born in exile in Angola. Since I was born during the war my perception was for a very long time very militant because of propaganda songs, videos and the lifestyle that I lived. Then I spent part of my childhood in the former GDR and my first cinema experience was so magical and enchanting-I think it was the 1984 film, Neverending Story and I was fascinated with cinemas from that day forth. This was the total opposite of what moving images had been for me before this, so as any child would have, I fell in love and hard. We didn't go to the cinema often but when we did I could not hide my enthusiasm for days ahead. Most of the regular weekly stuff I was exposed to were the TV shows like Batman etc. you know 80's shows-sitcoms, Cosby show, etc., but because we lived in a communist state the shows that were screened had to be in line with communistic ideals and of course all channels were majorly censored. Back in Namibia from 1990 I was exposed to a lot of commercial blockbuster Hollywood films and very few African films which made filmmaking in my eyes appear to be an exclusive and distant thing and for a selective few. Because I always wanted to tell stories however I opted for theatre at the time, because it was open to me to explore. Then I remember seeingSarraounia (Med Hondo, 1986) one evening as a teenager, a film shot in Burkina Faso, and it changed my outlook and perception on African cinema. I then started digging and searching for more foreign films, going to embassies for film screenings and trying to expose myself to films I was not accessing and films that had that heart, that passion that I shared when telling stories. Then I moved to Cape Town to study and I felt like I had arrived, there were alternative theaters (cinema nouveau and Labia) that screened independent films and it was during that time that I was also learning more about filmmaking, work on set, etc.

See the obituary at Namibi Insider: https://namibinsider.com/2019/10/10/remembering-namibian-filmmaker-oshosheni-hiveluah/

African Women in Cinema Blog Updates | Actualités 07 april | avril 2017 - News around the Internet | Les infos autour de l’Internet

African Women in Cinema Blog

Updates | Actualités

07 - 04 – 2017

Content | Contenu :

Stéphanie Dongmo

Nadja Harek

Oshosheni Hiveluah 

Fatou Kandé Senghor

Laureates: Mashariki Film Festival Awards 2017 (Rwanda):

Laureates: Zambia Film and Television Awards (ZAFTAs) 2017

Stéphanie Dongmo:

« Les films africains posent les problèmes de la société, à des degrés et critiques divers. » Hanoscultures.com

Nadja Harek:

Battle of the Year Mayotte: Nadja Harek

Ma famille entre deux terres. En présence de la réalisatrice Nadja Harek. Programmation: Avril 2017. PDF

Filmmaker Oshosheni Hiveluah evokes origin in virtual reality:

04-04-2017. The Namibian. 

Parcours au féminin: Fatou Kandé Senghor:

Théodora Sy Sambou | 01/04/2017. Sud Quotidien

Mashariki Film Festival Awards 2017 (Rwanda):

- Ari Michelle Mboya – The Camel's Back (2016) Best East African Short Fiction Film 

- Mitchelle Jangara - Water to Dust (2016), Best Short Documentary 

- Maimouna Doucoure – Maman (2016), Best African Short Film

Zambia Film and Television Awards (ZAFTAs) 2017

Imagination (2017) by Jessie Chisi:

- Jessie Chisi, the Godfrey Kapotwe Mwape Award for Best Short Film (Imagination)

- Elijah Marko Tembo Jr, the Chris Mongri Zulu Award for the Best Sound for the film Imagination.

- INZY/Talent Factory, the Antonio Katakwe Award for the Best Picture for the film Imagination.

Fever (2016) by Becky Ngoma 

Becky Ngoma, the Maximo Chanda Mwale Award for the Best Television Series, a production of Global Studios.

Mutinta Chicco Mazoka Mmembe

The Augustine Lungu Award for the Best Television Show for Talk It Over with Chicco, produced by Oracle Media.

Cassie Kabwita

The Agnes Esnart Kabanana Mulimbika Award for the Best Actress for her role in Kwacha, which she directed.

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

International Images International Film Festival for Women (IIFF) 2014 report by Oshosheni Hiveluah. Photos : O.H.

This year’s International Images International Film Festival (IIFF) took place from the 15th until the 23rd August 2014 in Harare, Zimbabwe. Flagged under the theme “Women Alive, Women of Heart” the festival had a delightful array of films from all around the world, portraying women in front of the camera and also behind.

The festival officially kicked off with a screening at the Eastgate Mall in downtown Harare. We all anticipated the scheduled opening film Half of a Yellow Sun, which due to technical difficulties could not screen. However, the audience enjoyed Joel Karakazi’s Imbabazi (The Pardon) instead.

I got the chance to talk to filmmaker Veronique Doumbe about the importance of being able to tell our stories, the way we want to and from our perspective. “Films such as Imbabazi make you relive the pain, so we don’t have to go through the same thing”, says Veronique who is producer of the film.

Veronique Doumbe

This rings particularly true for Joel Karakazi, genocide survivor and director of the film, who was brave enough to tackle a very painful part of his life and put it onscreen: “We need to help so that it will not happen again, it’s important to respect each other; there is the enrichment you get from doing something different. I want it to be different so I can learn something and stand for something else. It’s important we don’t force, but accept our differences as that is a matter of respect.”

The festival films were screened at three different venues around the city namely Ster Kinekor at Eastgate Mall, Alliance Française and the Book Café.

In attendance were several filmmakers from across the globe such as Andrew Dosunmu, director of Mother of George. Veronique Doumbe, who produced and edited Imbabazi, was amongst the invited guests. Also present were founder and first festival director Tsitsi Dangarembga and several local filmmakers, fans of films, and government officials, all of whom came to show their support for the filmmaking industry.

Talent Fadzai Jakado

This year’s theme “Women with Heart”, for me was meant to be a reflection of the power and strength of women, no matter how subtle. I ventured to find stories of courageous women, women unafraid to tell their stories. One such story was the 23-minute documentary, A Story of Hope; A Stitch in Time (Collen Mogoboya, 2014) about a local cervical cancer survivor Talent Fadzai Jakado, which screened at the Book Café. Touching, heartfelt and personal, it is a story of hope that assures that we can rise above anything.

Camera Woman (2014) by Khadija Harrad was also a film that stood out for me. It tackled the issue of divorced women in Moroccan society, women being stereotyped because of the type of work they do. A film about women comradeship and the importance for women to support and encourage one another especially when one is down and under.

The festival also hosted a script adaptation workshop lead by British-Nigerian writer Ade Solanke. The feedback from participants was inspiring, some of which highlighted how it empowered Zimbabwean writers with new writing skills.

Images International Film Festival is growing and expanding. This year they are extending the festival to Kenya and Somalia. The festival will also screen and host workshops in November in Zimbabwe town/cities of Bulawayo, Gwanda and Binga.

The 2014 edition of the festival was entertaining and interesting and as other festival goers commented it would help the festival with a big surge of more support so more people can attend the festival and be part of this discussion. IIFF celebrates women who despite daily challenges emerge stronger.

IIFF 2014 PRIZE AWARDS

All winning films received trophies and certificates, and some categories were awarded prize money

Walter Muparutsa Prize for The Best Film in the New Man Category

Winner: Under The Same Sun (2013) by Sameh Zoabi

A well made film that portrays men in a very positive light.  In the Israeli-Palestine conflict men have been fighting at the expense of women and children and it was good to see two men advocating for peace and working to create a safe world for their families.

Best Short Film

Winner: Strength in Fear (2012) by Ella Mutuyimana, Rwanda 

Best Documentary

Winner: Little Heaven (2011) by Lieven Corthouts, Ethiopia/ Belgium 

A humane story about children in a situation that is not of their own making. It is a story about hope and resilience that inspires empathy. It captures the festival theme “Women Alive, Women Of Heart”

Best Script

Winner: Biyi Bandele for the film Half of A Yellow Sun (2013)

Best Cinematography

Winner: Bradford Young for Mother of George (2013) by Andrew Dosunmu, USA/Nigeria

Best Actress

Winner: Sumeia Maculuva in Virgin Margarida (2012) by Licínio Azevedo, Mozambique/Portugal

Best Director

Winner: Joel Karekezi, for Imbabazi |The Pardon (2013), Rwanda

Best Depiction of a Woman Alive, Woman Of Heart

Winner: Virgin Margarida

Best Film

Winner: Virgin Margarida

Audience Prize

Winner: Half of A Yellow Sun 

Best African Film

Winner: Half of a Yellow Sun 

Best SADC

Winner: Virgin Margarida

Best Zimbabwean Film

Winner: Two Villages Apart (2013) by Donald Mabido

Service Award For Outstanding WFOZ Member 

Winner: Stella January

Distinguished Woman of African Cinema

Winner: Lupita Nyong’o, Kenya/USA

*The jury did not award the Best Zimbabwean Documentary and Zimbabwean Film with Best sound.

Report by Oshosheni Hiveluah, September 2014

RELEVANT LINKS:

International Images Film Festival for Women (Harare) 12-23 August 2014 

The Distinguished Woman of African Cinema Award presented by Women Filmmakers of Zimbabwe (WFOZ) 

Oshosheni Hiveluah: A Portrait

Oshosheni Hiveluah

Oshosheni please talk a bit about yourself? What was it like for you growing up in terms of films and images that you were exposed to?

Well in terms of growing up, I was born in exile in Angola. Since I was born during the war my perception was for a very long time very militant because of propaganda songs, videos and the lifestyle that I lived. Then I spent part of my childhood in the former GDR and my first cinema experience was so magical and enchanting-I think it was the 1984 film, Neverending Story and I was fascinated with cinemas from that day forth. This was the total opposite of what moving images had been for me before this, so as any child would have, I fell in love and hard. We didn't go to the cinema often but when we did I could not hide my enthusiasm for days ahead. Most of the regular weekly stuff I was exposed to were the TV shows like Batman etc. you know 80's shows-sitcoms, Cosby show, etc., but because we lived in a communist state the shows that were screened had to be in line with communistic ideals and of course all channels were majorly censored. Back in Namibia from 1990 I was exposed to a lot of commercial blockbuster Hollywood films and very few African films which made filmmaking in my eyes appear to be an exclusive and distant thing and for a selective few. Because I always wanted to tell stories however I opted for theatre at the time, because it was open to me to explore. Then I remember seeing Sarraounia (Med Hondo, 1986) one evening as a teenager, a film shot in Burkina Faso, and it changed my outlook and perception on African cinema. I then started digging and searching for more foreign films, going to embassies for film screenings and trying to expose myself to films I was not accessing and films that had that heart, that passion that I shared when telling stories. Then I moved to Cape Town to study and I felt like I had arrived, there were alternative theaters (cinema nouveau and Labia) that screened independent films and it was during that time that I was also learning more about filmmaking, work on set, etc.

So what finally brought you to cinema?

I studied multimedia at City Varsity and during 2003/4 year I was renting with a friend and our landlord and landlady were a producer and an art director. I found their work fascinating and went on set once or twice and laid my eyes on the wonderful world of cinema and film. I was in awe, but did not get in contact with film until a year later. I went to work in the theatre, because it was safe I had always been exposed to theatre and had always been part of theatre groups during high school, until I wrote a script for a student film which was selected for a workshop during our local film festival (which has since died-Wild Cinema International Film Festival), which I then directed and decided to take on a job as a production assistant in 2005 to learn about filmmaking because I realised this was something I could see myself doing for a while to come. I spent four years with the company working and exploring almost every area of film (I was hungry and just wanted to learn what it takes to make a film) from casting, grips to light, make up etc, but was most intrigued by directing and did a lot of 2nd and 1st AD jobs as well as producing and production coordinating. Yea so that's kind of my summarized journey and now I work as a freelance casting agent, director and writer in Windhoek.

What was your experience making the film Cries at Night?

Cries at Night is my debut short film as a film director and how exciting it has been. I have done a couple of student films I am interested in the human psyche, I am interested in how we as people relate to one another and exploring human emotions within the context of conflict, love, understanding, peace, etc.

Interview by Beti Ellerson (March 2011) 

Cries at Night by Oshosheni Hiveluah

Synopsis of the film Cries at Night

Lazarus meets Victor during an accident in which his niece is involved. Something about Victor leaves Lazarus restless and he can’t forget the encounter or the man. His restlessness turns into obsession when he begins to follow Victor and kidnaps him and locks him in a dark cellar. There they embark on a trip down memory lane. Victor is revealed as Lazarus’ former torturer who tormented and traumatized him in the dungeons before Namibia’s independence. Lazarus finds it hard to deal with his past, which has haunted him in his dreams ever since and craves for forgiveness and healing.

Director's Statement

Being born during the time of the Namibian liberation struggle I have always had a keen interest about the happenings of that time, mainly because I was raised in an environment with strong political motives. When I was younger and living in a refugee home with several other children there were always stories about certain traitors of SWAPO, who had betrayed our soldiers.

Now that I have grown older and more open minded I am keen to explore how it must feel for traitors to be living in a country they were accused of betraying. I strongly feel that regardless of our histories and past, especially amongst African people themselves, we need to learn to overcome our differences and reconcile, but this can only happen if we address the issues that have caused us pain in the past. It’s definitely a personal journey that every person chooses to walk or to not walk. With this film I hope to inspire first and foremost healing of self, which can hopefully trigger bigger things. I would also like to encourage discussion and debates around sensitive issues in order for us as a nation to overcome as opposed to licking our wounds and crying over spilt milk and learn to forgive ourselves and others.

Producer Statement (Media Logistics Nambia CC For Film and Performing Arts)

Namibia is a country, extremely popular for its film location for foreign productions, but however even if there are plenty of Namibian stories waiting to be told, local filmmakers still struggle considerably to tell their own stories. To me as a producer it is of great importance to work with local crews and being able to tell truly Namibian stories.

The main theme of ‘Cries at night’ explores the issue of reconciliation amongst the inhabitants of Namibia. Following fifteen years of independence and the election of Namibia’s second president in 2005 it is slowly time for a new Namibian generation to emerge. It is a generation that is growing up in a democratic state, open minded and not pre - occupied with the trials of the apartheid regime. It should be a generation honoring their forefathers for creating this nation but also a generation discussing and addressing issues concerning the past, the present and the future of their country. Only by confronting these issues we can find ways of overcoming them and to grow stronger as a nation. With this film we want to create awareness and initiate discussions on reconciliation within the borders of the country.