By Frederick Philander
WINDHOEK
The Pan-African Film and Arts Festival in Beverly Hills has officially invited the Namibian film, ‘Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation’ to be screened as the Opening Night Film at the 16th Festival in February next year.
The festival will take place on February 7 during Black History Month at the AMC/Magic Johnson Theatres in the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza in Los Angeles.
This formal invitation was extended to the executive producer of the film, Uasuva Kaumbi, by Ayuko Babu, chairman of the PAFF.
The Opening Night Gala will take place at the Directors Guild of America in Hollywood.
“We are the largest Black film festival, as well as the largest Black History Month event, in the United States. It is appropriate that ‘Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation’, which depicts the final stages of decolonization in southern Africa, be showcased and spotlighted during Black History Month,” said Babu.
In 2008, PAFF will showcase more than 170 of the finest new films from the US, Africa, Europe, the Caribbean, the South Pacific, Latin America and Canada, made by or about people of African descent.
“The 15-screen, 4 000-seat AMC/Magic Johnson Theatres are located in the heart of the affluent and predominantly African American Baldwin Hills Crenshaw community.
In addition to the screenings, PAFF will produce an exhibition and sale of fine arts by over 100 prominent and emerging Black artists and craftspeople in the adjacent Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Plaza mall.
In 2007, about 40 000 people came to see PAFF films and over 200 000 visited the fine arts show. Additionally, about 15 000 primary and secondary school students attended our Student Festival,” he said.
The Opening Night Gala at the Directors Guild of America on February 7 is designed to host over 700 guests, including Hollywood celebrities, international and local filmmakers, civic, business and community leaders.
“We would like you and the Namibian delegation to be here by February 5 so that you can attend the Opening Night. We hope you will be able to join us at this major cultural event,” Babu concluded.
An American View on the Film
The following comments about the film ‘Namibia: The Struggle for Liberation’ reflect my thoughts as well as those of PAFF staff and other people who were at the screening I attended in Los Angeles. They included important filmmakers, such as Jamal Fanaka (Penitentiary I and Penitentiary II); city officials, including former Los Angeles City Controller Rick Tuttle; and several staff members who work for City Council members and County officials.
There were also many Hollywood actors, directors and producers in attendance. The overwhelming impression of us all is that this is a good and important film.
From a technical standpoint, the film is on a par with any well-made Hollywood film. Most people thought the story was extremely important because it brought new knowledge about how Namibia and southern Africa were liberated from colonialism. Very few people knew about the historical role that Cuba played in the liberation struggle. They were grateful and excited about getting this new information about Namibia and southern Africa in general.
The only criticism I heard was that the battle against South Africa should have shown more African Cuban troops fighting alongside the Namibian brothers to defeat the South African army; also, the connection between the defeat of the South African army and the subsequent release from prison of President Nelson Mandela and forcing the white South African minority government to negotiate with the ANC was unclear. Several people mentioned that they would have liked to have had those facts more illuminated.
We thought the various controversial issues depicted in the film around the liberation struggle were handled with taste, respect and restraint. Those controversial areas are always difficult to put onto film, especially when the people involved are still alive. Under these circumstances, the film did a good job of dealing with the delicate aspects of the liberation struggle.
I read Robert Koehler’s review in ‘Variety’ and I understand his wanting to know more about the personal aspects of President Samuel Nujoma’s life, but I felt that the personal information in the film was sufficient. Of course, people always want to know more about someone’s personal life.
I disagreed with Robert, whom I know and who covers PAFF for ‘Variety’, when he says “the theatrical prospects are virtually nil outside of southern Africa and select Euro sites.” I think there IS a theatrical audience – not the casual, educated, white middle-class who normally attend foreign films in the United States. I think the theatrical audience for this film is the vast number of African Americans, continental Africans, and the African Diaspora throughout the world who are hungry for films telling their story. These groups are PAFF’s primary audience.
One of the most important reasons to showcase ‘Namibia’ at PAFF is that you can show distributors what a Black audience thinks about your film. Our Black audience does not attend white film festivals in appreciable numbers, so distributors find it difficult to gauge the response of the natural audience for a Black film such as ‘Namibia’. PAFF offers the opportunity to connect with distributors for television, libraries, colleges, universities, museums and secondary schools.
I know that once a film is completed, there is often the feeling that it can be adjusted, worked on and improved. However, I believe that ‘Namibia’ is fine as it is. The main thing now is to ensure that there is a thoughtful, well-financed promotional campaign to publicize the film. If you recall, ‘Tsotsi’, winner of the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award in 2006, was showcased at the 2006 PAFF Opening Night. The publicity generated there and the financial support from the South African Government created a buzz that helped get out the last Academy votes that resulted in it winning the Academy Award.
There have been many articles in the press about the success of Black films based on word-of-mouth recommendations from people who see the films.
Selecting the right film festivals to showcase ‘Namibia’, in addition to having an adequate promotional budget, is important. By utilizing the platform of PAFF, you can create a buzz that will bring in the audience and show distributors that the film has an audience and can be a commercial success.