Namibian films selected to premiere at SA international film festival

WINDHOEK, June 11 — Two Namibian short films addressing gender-based violence (GBV) have been selected to premiere at South Africa’s Garden Route International Film Festival (GRIFF), the international award-winning director Philippe Talavera said Friday.
The two seven-minute-long short films — “Be a Lady” and “Be a Man” — were a result of brainstorming sessions that looked at issues around masculinity and femininity in three of Namibia’s 14 regions, said Talavera.
According to Talavera, the Namibian society is marred by contradictions characterized by school girls being advised against falling pregnant at school while communities expecting them to have children early to extend family generations; as well as parents telling boys not to cry while life-skills teachers advising them to bare their emotions and seek support.
“GBV is a burning issue in Namibia and has been so for the past decade and longer. To address this issue, there is a need to shift the focus and look at the problem from a completely different angle,” he explained.
One of the two films features former Miss Namibia, and both will have their world premiere at GRIFF between June 12 to 16, before premiering in Namibia at the Goethe Institute on Aug. 12 as part of “the caring Namibian man” photo project.
The photos and clips will then be used in schools to discuss issues around masculinity, femininity, and the meaning of gender equality in modern Namibia.
Both films were produced and directed by Philippe Talavera, whose film titled “Kapana” was the recipient of the 2022 Free To Be Me HIVOS Award at the Roze Filmdagen LGBTQ Film Festival in Amsterdam in March, as well as the Audience Award at the Black Film Summit in Naperville, the U.S. state of Illinois.