The untold story of ‘The White Line’

PINEHAS NAKAZIKOSCRIPTWRITER, musician and co-producer of ‘The White Line’, Micheal Pulse has shed more light on how the Namibian drama was produced.

Directed by Desiree Kahikopo-Meiffret and co-produced by Fetteroff Colen, Girley Jazama, Prudence Kolong, Pulse and Kahikopo-Meiffret, ‘The White Line’ revolves around a love affair between a black domestic helper and a white Afrikaner police officer in 1963.

Speaking on Desert Radio on Friday, Pulse who sees the film as one the best feature films currently making waves locally and abroad, says he was part of the project since day one in 2017.

“At the beginning ‘The White Line’ was just a name, no scripts, no nothing. After all the work we put into it, look at it now! The film has been screening at a bunch of film festivals around the world.”

Shot on location at Karibib, Usakos and Okahandja, ‘The White Line’ had its first festival premiere at the 2019 Durban International Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim before beginning its worldwide circuit.

In 2019, at the Namibian Theatre and Film Awards (NTFA) lead actress Jazama was nominated for the best female actor award.

In 2020, the film was nominated for the five awards; best actress in a leading role, best first feature by a director, best achievement in costume design, best screenplay and best film in an African language at the African Movie Academy Awards.

In the same year, the film won the Kilimanjaro Award for the best film at the Festival Africlap.

Pulse says they wanted it to represent the nation and show the world that Namibian stories are valid, even those from the apartheid era.

“It’s very important to tell these stories about how apartheid affected us. We realised that there are so many stories that are not yet told.”

Producing the film also meant that the team had to pay careful attention to issues of accuracy.

“We had to talk to a couple of people and did research about those years,” he says.

On writing the script and dialogue, Pulse says the idea came from his mom, who was first employed as a domestic helper.

“Since the film was my first feature film, I put my all into it. There is a lot of my family in there and characters that are close to me. We hand-picked everybody on the cast after auditions.

“Before we did translations, we had to look at how people responded to each other. It took us three months to write the script, which was 140 pages long,” Pulse says.

Some of the actors had a hard time with the languages at the beginning, Pulse says, but they had a phenomenal director who took time to understand the vision of the film and communicate this to the cast.

Pulse says the director would often sit with actors to relate the history of Namibia authentically, as such he believes historical Nambian films are worth telling.

“There are interesting stories to tell in Namibia. There is more that is coming, as we get more young people involved in the film industry.”

In terms of funding, Pulse says making a film that meets international standards costs millions, which includes marketing.

“It’s a lot more than you think it is. The art industry in Namibia has seasons and there was a time they didn’t want film but we have to find ways for corporates to fund us, you just can’t rely on local funds – there are so many platforms to source funds from international organisations.”

In terms of production, Pulse says while the standard of local films is on par with the quality of international productions, sometimes it’s more about the story being told.

Commenting on local films gaining more exposure, Pulse says locals must start to travel more.

“They must interact and connect with more film festivals. Networking is the key to everything,” says Pulse who counts director Florian Schott as his inspiration due to his consistency and hard work.

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