Pricilla Mukokobi
Dressed to the nines, local actresses, actors, writers, directors and production crews slayed on the red carpet at the National Theatre of Namibia, where the premiere of 14 Namibian short films took place Wednesday evening.
Commissioned by the Namibian Broadcasting Corporation in collaboration with No Plot Productions, the films were produced by about 50 people from NBC and over 90 people from outside.
Speaking at the event, NBC director general Stanley Similo said it is important for Namibians to produce local content and for big businesses in Namibia to start supporting local films.
“Local films need to get to another level,” he stressed.
Similo said they have identified five platforms where they can market these films so that the industry grows and for Namibians to benefit from this.
“Films will be shot, and we will be working with young people so that we expose them to films. We need to train young minds,” he said.
Similo bemoaned the fact that many Namibians are ashamed of their local languages, which makes it hard to work with such people.
“Films are not made by one person; it is about a group of people – a dynamic. We must have each other. When we have learning students, teachers will always be there,” he noted.
The films that were premiered are ‘Where were we’, ‘Bleeding love’, ‘Shattered dreams’, ‘I Am Not’, ‘Cutting ties’, ‘Spellbound’, ‘Inner betray’, ‘Neighbours at war’, ‘How to get away’, ‘Unaware’, ‘Trauma’, ‘Bus stop’, ‘Two thieves’, and ‘Hers, Yours, Mine’.
Rodrecia Jass, who plays Victoria in a movie called ‘Hers, Yours, Mine’, told VIBEZ! the experience was great and the training was very helpful, as she lacked skills and knowledge.
“I love my role as Victoria, but first I was not comfortable with it because I had to fall in love with my best friend and I had to confess my love to her,” she said.
VIBEZ! also spoke to Fareed Matjila and Dawie Engelbrecht, who play in the film ‘Trauma’. Engelbrecht said playing a role of a good man is not his thing because, in most of the films he played, he was always a villain.
“Being a good man and acting as a good man or a good person is not fun because it’s like telling the whole world who you really are. When you are acting, you have to confuse the world about who you really are,” he said.
Engelbrecht added the experience was great, as there is always a first time to everything.
Matjila said he had fun – even though the film was short, and he cannot wait to be a full-time actor, as it has always been his dream to be one.
NBC and MultiChoice Namibia in March last year opened the call for submission of films that reflect truly authentic Namibian stories.
The duration of the film should be 50 minutes, and accepted genres include comedy, family drama, action or romantic comedy and should be suitable for family