WINDHOEK– The public is invited to the launch of Independence Ave Films (IAF) at the Warehouse Theatre on Tuesday.
IAF is the first Namibian company that will focus on events, agency and distribution of film products in Namibia as well as all film related events. To address the lack of movie distribution and film agency company, IAF will serve as an institution to tackle the challenges faced by Namibian film products in terms of distribution, agency and marketing. To celebrate the launch of this newly created entity, the public will be treated to a Namibian screening of Jean-Pierre Bekolo’s honest and daring film The President (Cameroon/Germany, 2013, 63 min), and Najat Jellab’s short film The Projectionist (Morocco, 2013, 20 min).
Bekolo’s characteristically stylish and intelligent film The President takes a piercing, fictionalised look at current affairs. It’s the night before an important summit, and the head of state vanishes into thin air. This disappearance is closely monitored by the media and his contenders in power. A struggle for succession opens up between different actors, while bloggers, hangers-on and talking heads tussle with the president’s problematic legacy. While the president on the other hand meets with people on the street and discusses the questions about the responsibilities of those in power.
The film takes shape around activism, but without losing its light touch. It asks questions about the responsibility of those in power. The President tries to clear a place for film in the arena of African politics, where truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Jellab’s short film, The Projectionist, is a film for the love of cinema and an open call to the end of the decline of cinemas in Morocco, Africa and the world at large. Majid is almost indifferent to the world that surrounds him. He lives only for his job, as a projectionist, and his passion for films. But when he learns that the owner of the theatre, where he works, has decided to sell it, his whole life shatters in front of his eyes.
The film won Best Short Film Award at the Harlem International Film Festival in 2013, and received a Special Mention at the third Luxor African Film Festival last month. The launch will start at 19h00 and entrance is free.