A Night of Namibian Women’s Film at the IWP

At an independent theatre in Iowa City, a group of cinephiles, writers and the curious shout the name of a nation. ‘Namibia!’ The word is yelled gleefully in the light of FilmScene’s logo projected blue on the screen.

A flickering cinematic portal which for the last nine weeks of the International Writing Programme’s (IWP) Cinematheque has transported local viewers to scenes of Algeria’s Gerboise Bleue, Singapore’s death row, Hong Kong in discussion, Morocco in waiting and Indonesia in love before cutting to Namibia through the lenses of Mikiros Garoes’ ‘The Date’, Senga Brockerhoff’s ‘Encore’ and Lavinia Kapewasha’s ‘Iitandu’.

The film choice is the featured IWP writer’s and, as Cinematheque’s host for the evening, I choose to present short films made by Namibian women earlier this year before opening the floor for a spirited and largely complimentary Q&A.

‘Namibia!’

Many people in the audience confess to not knowing much about my home. But, via the vehicle of film, for one sparkling moment, they are in Old Location restaurant in Katutura, giggling at the universal follies of romance and a hysterical Hazel Hinda. They are entranced by Kapewasha’s performance in virus-hit dystopian Namibia and ultimately spellbound by Brockerhoff’s ghost story set in the national theatre.

It is each audience member’s first time watching a Namibian film.

“I’d never seen a Namibian film before. Not even a Namibian television production. The works were as new to me as I’m sure they were to the Argentine film-maker in the audience. I think many Nigerians, even cineastes among Nigerians, would not be able to boast of knowing Namibian cinema. This has to change, of course. I felt I broke new ground just watching the films,” remarked IWP writer-in-residence and award-winning Nigerian poet Tade Ipadeola before offering some critique.

“I would say each film had a different quality in its praise as each film had a different critical flaw. Going in the order in which I saw them, I’d say ‘The Date’ was for me a most willful achievement. Would I still think so if I wasn’t told the story of its making? I don’t know. I think it would still be an achievement if Kanye didn’t somehow find his way into the dialogue. I found ‘Encore”s surrealistic setting and shooting imaginative. A moving work doesn’t have to be elaborate. ‘Encore’ proves this point convincingly.

“Was it necessary at the end to have talcum on the male actor’s face? I wager it wasn’t. I would not ordinarily watch sci-fi films, but Kapewasha’s short film fuses extreme anomie with the African device of the dilemma tale, also known as the judgement tale. This, for me, is beyond irresistible. Was it necessary for the protagonist to end as many lives? I don’t think so. I think these films will provide discourse for some time to come. I like them all and ‘like’ is not a lesser kind of ‘love’. They have spunk.”

Ipadeola, confessing to have been “vicariously Namibian” all through the event, also offers praise for the all-women selection.

“Viewing, for the first time, not one but three films from Namibia at a culturally significant venue like FilmScene in Iowa City was both revelatory and confirmatory. The experience was confirmatory because I spent a good part of my time doing pedagogic interaction with students and professors here in Iowa, reiterating that women were traditionally the custodians of the stories in Africa,” he says.

“I was glad I didn’t need to stress this point to anyone after these films screened. There was a good reason why this was so in the ancestral epistemology of Africa and it gives me a kind of joy to see that role being taken up in modern times by creatives using the filmic medium.

“I think I also enjoyed the fact that little hinges are swinging huge doors now. The films all screened at about the time Scorsese was doing the good work of educating the public about what was cinema and what was mere theme park motion picture. We do make cinema and I was vicariously Namibian all through the screening.”

Prolific author and IWP writer-in-residence from South Africa Yamkela Tykwadi is equally effusive.

“I loved how the films were so unique and original. They were not trying to follow any trends. I also loved how women were strong, powerful characters,” she says, and adds that Garoes’ ‘The Date’ (2019) was perhaps her favourite if she had to pick one.

“I loved how it showed a beautiful friendship between these women. Women are often considered bitter and jealous towards each other, but this film went against those stereotypes and told the true relationship women often have.”

Experiencing the films as a fellow African abroad, Tykwadi admits some homesickness.

“When you are away from home, you realise the beauty that is Africa. We appreciate what’s ours when we are far from it. Watching the comedy film made me miss home, made me miss how beautiful and funny we are. How warm we are. The one with a woman fighting with the Afrikaner man made me realise the work that still needs to be done, especially for black people. How so much keeps being taken from us. It also reminded me how resilient our people are.”

Excited about the films but lamenting the lack of Namibian languages in the selection, Tykwadi leaves the screening a Namibian cinema enthusiast.

“It warms my heart to see these African women breaking doors and entering a male-dominated industry and producing films that speak to our people. Thank you for introducing me to the Namibian film scene.”

– martha@namibian.com.na; Martha Mukaiwa on social media; marthamukaiwa.com

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