2018-06-01Staff Report 2 Staff Reporter The film “Salute!”is to feature at the AIDS 2018 conference in Amsterdam, The Netherland on 25 July. The biennale conference is organised by the International AIDS Society, the world’s leading independent association of HIV professionals. “It is a great honour for us to know the film has been selected for the conference’, says Philippe Talavera, director of Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (OYO), “At this stage it is unlikely we will be able to attend the conference, due to funding restrictions. However it is important at such international platforms to showcase what Namibia does. We have an innovative approach. The work done on “Salute!” was participatory (it involved inmates during the writing stage but also as extra and was shot on location at the Windhoek Correctional Facility) yet highly professional.” OYO produced “Salute!” in 2017. The gang culture in jail was born in South Africa. It reached Namibia as far back as in the 1980s. While some elements are common between Namibia and South Africa, this film is a Namibian story, written with Namibians for Namibians. Carlito (Adriano Visagie, winner best male actor in a Theatre Play, NTFA 2017) is a young Namibian man who is sentenced to five years imprisonment because of fraud. Nothing can prepare him for his new life in custody. Naïve, he gets lured in the group of the General (Monray Garoeb), a dangerous criminal who rules over his cell. “There are some dramatic elements to make it an interesting film”, adds Talavera, “but it also has a strong message”.’ This production is an all-Namibian star production, also starring Odile Gertze (winner best female actor in a film, NTFA 2017); Dawie Engelbrecht (winner best male actor in a film at the NTFA 2014); David Ndjavera (winner best male actor in a theatre production, NTFA 2012). It was produced and directed by Talavera; with Bernd Curschmann as director of photography; Haiko Boldt as editor (winner best editor at the NTFA 2014) and Wojtek Majewski for the post-production (winner best sound and post-production, NTFA 2107). 2018-06-01Staff Report 2
