WINDHOEK-One of Namibia’s most talented and successful film producer, currently based in South Africa, Abraham Pieters, well-known as AB, says he is not ashamed to let the whole world know about his struggle with mental health, especially in the cut-throat entertainment Industry.
The young producer reveals that the industry has so many hypocrites, toxicity and evil and puts awful pressure on a person and create a void to make them feel a need to succumb. “We are losing a generation of young people who do not believe that their voices are worth hearing. The need in this world for kindness is paralysing. The negative news and tragedies are nonstop and overwhelming. We need to share our stories so that global mental health no longer resides and festers in the darkness.”
Abraham admits to suffering a lot from depression and anxiety and feels necessary to tell his story because depression does not take away ones talent but instead makes it harder to find. “However, for me I always find my talent despite all that. I learned that my sadness never destroyed what was great about me. I learned not to focus on the light at the end to the tunnel, but to remind myself that I am the light within the tunnel,” explains AB.
He adds that it is very hard to explain to people who have never known serious depression or anxiety. “I was overwhelmed by something I did not understand, my own brain. It is hard to articulate to people what exactly is going on in your head, when you do not even understand it yourself. And that is why we use photo shop and filters to lighten our photos, whilst we carry the heavy weight of stress.” AB reveals having always been having a split personality but never really knew what it was and never had the right words to articulate to himself that AB, you have a split personality.”
“At school I was always making the class, teachers and everyone laugh. I would imitate teachers and just be the clown in class from high school to college from college to every work place I have worked before. I always make people laugh – Imitating colleagues and just being a clown. I can remember working in Cape Town on Expresso and Afternoon Express, my colleagues literally made me imitate people every day before we went home. After a long day that’s what I did and people would just assume I am a clown and a happy ball of passion, while in real life I am not,” he says.
Despite that, AB is still pushing for his career in the film and entertainment industry that started off well last year from working on hit shows in South Africa such as Expresso, Afternoon Express and Top billing.
He relocated to Johannesburg and worked with international heavyweights from Bonang Matheba to Trevor Noah on different platforms.
He also worked for the The Nelson Mandela Global Festival where he had an opportunity to meet and work with acclaimed world personalities such as Dave Chapel, Beyonce, Jay Z, Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King. On top of that he also had a one hour documentary series about his career with CNN African Voices. “Apart from that, I had many sold out workshops in Johannesburg. Flying from city to city with private jets at the age of only 24, being an Executive Producer is one of the heads I wear- Putting Namibia on the map wherever I go. I am the first Namibian to be accepted as intern at Universal Studios. Seems like a perfect life any 24-year-old would dream off,” says AB.