Kapana finally premieres

THE long-waited love film, ‘Kapana’ finally made its premiere at Ster-Kinekor, Grove Mall, in Windhoek on Thursday, during a glitz and glam red carpet event.

When one hears the new film ‘Kapana’ by director, Philippe Talavera, tells the story about a gay relationship and that award-winning actor Adriano Visagie is playing the lead role, one will immediately think it is some sort of follow-up from their previous film ‘Salute’, but it is not the case.

‘Kapana’ is unique and educational in its own way. It tells the story of two young Namibian men who have nothing in common and yet, against all odds, they fall in love. The film explores themes around love, secrecy, fears and commitment. It looks at the fabric of our society and some of the fears we have of what is morally acceptable,” said Talavera.

Talavera said working on the film brought him several new experiences. “We at the Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (OYO) mainly do dramas, and this is a love story. At OYO, we do projects for the youth, so working with adults was interesting for me,” he said.

Talavera said this is the first time he has worked with a script. The script was written by award-winners Senga Brockerhoff and Mikiros Garoës.

He found working on the film during the Covid-19 lockdown challenging. “The shooting of the film was luckily done before the lockdown, however, finalising the film was not easy. The editing and music parts were mainly challenging,” Talavera said.

Visage, who plays the lead role as George, did not fail to impress with his great acting skills. He is getting better with each role. Visagie said he decided to be part of the film because he wanted to inspire others to never be apologetic about whom they love.

“The film aims to enlighten locals and film lovers across the world that love does exist and can be found in the most unexpected places. We want people to love whoever they want to,” Visagie said.

Visagie said his favourite experience from the movie are the scenes at the Kapana marketplace. “The reaction from the public was amazing. Some of them wanted to be in the shots. It was such a real experience for me,” he said.

The producers also incorporated one of the kapana vendors, Simon Hanga. Hanna, who is known as Simeon in the film, said he found it challenging to play the role of a gay man. “It was hard because I am not gay. I decided to do it to showcase this character because I do support the aims and objectives of the movie. This is happening in our country and worldwide. People need to see the truth about what is happening. I do believe that we need to showcase the challenges that we face as human beings,” Hanga said.

Some of the notable things in the film include the over the top performance by Mikiros Garoës, and the fake blue eye make-up from Visagie. In the film, Visagie injured his eye after a punch by Hanga. Visagie is HIV positive and never had the courage to tell Hanga. Hanga later discovered the truth, and this triggered the assault.

Award-winning Haiko Bolt edited the film. Musicians Ponti Dikuua and Micheal Pulse contributed to the music.

The film has already received its first official selection. It has been selected to screen at the 12th Annual Fargo-Moorhead LGBT Film Festival in the US.For the past 12 years, the Fargo-Moorhead LGBT Film Festival has taken place at the historic Fargo Theatre in downtown Fargo, North Dakota. However, his year, due to the pandemic, the festival will be transitioning to be an online-only experience.