Film-maker Oshoveli Shipoh isn’t beyond a little fanfare.
Premiering the official trailer for ‘Hairareb’ ahead of a special screening of ‘What Men Want’ at Ster-Kinekor last month, the film’s trailer was subsequently released to the public on 1 March.
Shot at Okarundu and Otjim-bingwe over December and January after a teaser thrilled Namibians in October, ‘Hairareb’ is set to hit the big screen in May, with the exact date yet to be confirmed.
Starring David Ndjavera as Hairareb as well as Claudine de Groot, Hazel Hinda, Kadeen ‘KK’ Kaoseb and Willem Egbert Moller, the trailer builds on the lyrical tone of the teaser to preview the high-stakes romantic drama Shipoh has been working on for four years.
“It’s hard to explain the feeling of seeing something of this magnitude unfolding from a build-up of four years of film growth, criticism, hand clapping and debate,” says Shipoh, who says there’s magic to this story and that he was honoured to work with writer August Chorien Bikeur, whose novel forms the basis of the film.
“It has been an inspiration engaging with him on the screen adaptation of his work.”
Though he is yet to see the trailer, Bikeur says he has received numerous calls of congratulations.
“I haven’t seen the trailer. I don’t have the right phone but some people have called me and tell me it’s a very nice, beautiful thing and I trust what they say,” says Bikeur, who wrote the novel in 1973 and was also involved with casting and script supervision.
Adapted for radio, taught in schools and now heading to the big screen, ‘Hairareb’ stands tall as Namibian literature with local wings.
“I feel great,” says Bikeur, commenting on the longevity of his story.
“This is something that Namibians haven’t done before and it’s a true honour for me.”
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