AFTER successfully premiering at Ster-Kinekor Grove Mall recently, the local film ‘Lukas’ will from 8 to 14 March be screened in Windhoek, Johannesburg and Cape Town, South Africa. The showing in South Africa will be a first for a 100% Namibian film.

It was directed by Philippe Talavera of the Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (OYO) based on a script written by Mikiros Garoes with a Namibian cast and crew.

The film offers an emotional exploration of the lives of street children, providing a raw and authentic portrayal of their challenges and the unwavering spirit that propels them forward.

It follows Lukas (played by Alejandro Cooper, Hernandes Gaonakgosi, and Treazurique Titus) over 15 years, and sheds light on the harsh realities children in the streets face and questions how society both fails and, at times, exploits such children.

 “As many people know, I am concerned by the growing number of children living in the streets in Windhoek in particular. We see them begging at the traffic lights or in parking lots. But those we see are the tip of the iceberg. There are many more children fending for themselves on the streets of Katutura,” Talavera told VIBEZ!

“I wanted to hear their stories, understand why they are on the streets, and see how their lives are. Ultimately, I want to put the issue of children living and working in the streets on the agendas of stakeholders. People are starting to talk about it, but are those talks well-informed? I just want to make sure their voices are heard.” 

Explaining the process of making the film, Talavera said they started with research to understand the topic better and conducted interviews with 17 children and young people currently living in the streets and four young people who have come into conflict with the law due to their lives in the streets. It is thus a fictional film based on facts. One of the challenges he encountered was to gain
 the trust of the children so they could open up and tell them their stories. 

“We had over 20 hours of interviews, so the next challenge was to decide what to include in the film. And finally, it was to try and be as realistic as possible, find the locations where things happen, and get the language right.”

Talavera used cast members that the audience could relate to – people who are uniquely Namibian and authentic.

In the end, 50 names appear in the end credits. Being a film about street children, they have a lot of child actors in the film, including Cooper, Gaonakgosi, Isvaldo Eixab, Christiano Farmer, Juanita Texas, Jannay Ludik, Justin Tshabalala, and Christian Kariseb. 

A mix of some of Namibia’s most famous performers, including award winner Dawie Engelbrecht, Roya Diehl, Mara Baumgartner, Lucky Pieters, Felicity Celento, international multi-award winner Adriano Visagie as well as newcomers such as Titus, Oscar Shilongo, and Sydney Farao are also part of the cast.

For Talavera, the most rewarding memory was working with children, something he enjoys. 

“It was a difficult story to tell for them, with loss, grief, and violence. But they were so motivated and dedicated. They worked very hard. Cooper had to reshoot a scene with Mara Baumgartner, and he was so cool about it, telling Mara, ‘We will nail it’! His energy on set was contagious.”

In Namibia, both the younger Lukas, played by Cooper, and the character of Neville, played by Farmer, particularly touched the audience.

“I can’t wait for audiences in Johannesburg and Cape Town to discover them. I also wonder if some of the issues are the same. I think in particular about the scene between Hernandes Gaonakgosi and Roya Diehl. I know audiences in South Africa are more critical than audiences in Namibia; their film industry is bigger than ours. I can’t wait for the feedback we may get,” he added. - priscillamukokobi@gmail.com