Getting Benefit From Foreign Filmmakers

I WAS very surprised when I read the article in Friday’s The Namibian, stating that Namibia hasn’t benefited from hosting foreign films.

I must confess that most of the time I give the newspaper just a trivial read, but this prompted me to read it. When I read it I realised that the article was about the penalty Cabinet approved, allowing the Namibia Film Commission to make big budget movies pay a fee. I am dumbfounded that people can’t see the benefit when a film company for example invests N$100 million in the country in a short space of time. Please ask Mr Nockels what he means when he says the big spin-offs from foreign films are not recognised here. What we need is legislation not only to attract foreign filmmakers but also to protect and develop our local film industry and not charge unnecessary fees that make them think twice before they come here. For example we need legislation to firstly protect our local film workforce, so that we can build a database of able workers who foreign filmmakers can make use of. Why do you think South Africa has such a good film industry?It’s because they have the vision and through legislation they have production companies that can pick from the best in the world (South African) to produce foreign movies. They have legislation that attracts these filmmakers through tax and other benefits. If the Film Commission initiates this legislation they can perhaps bring to the attention of the Cabinet the benefits of the injection of these big amounts of money on the economy and thereby attract bigger budget allocations. Maybe one day we will have our own reputable admin and creative staff (including equipment) who the foreign filmmakers can trust and they will see the benefit of employing locally. And then those of us with dreams in our eyes will be able to make use of these resources to make our own world-class movies without the worries of quality and the acceptance of international audiences. We will be able to make a movie about Frank Fredericks to inspire the youth; we will be able to make mini series based on the life of people like Smithy of the Observer to intrigue foreign viewers. We will be able to tell story of the taxi driver, domestic worker, bank clerk etc and let the people see the humour behind the unreasonable and racist employer. There are so many stories to tell in Namibia and most of all we will be able to make each other laugh at ourselves without pointing fingers but with acceptance. Well at the end it is just me dreaming… Valcerine MoutonVia e-mail