The movies. They’re where we go when we need the comfort of funny little love stories, of adventure or a window into a surviving world.
While Hollywood still holds the monopoly on distraction, Namibia has been putting in laudable work and the fruits of local film-makers’ imaginations’ are being gathered at Lockdown Cinema Namibia.
The brainchild of film production company Collective Productions, Lockdown Cinema is a Facebook event where you can find links and blurbs to local movies available to stream online.
“The idea is to provide a platform for all local film-makers to share their content in one place so that the audience, Namibians who are under lockdown, can easily access stories and settings that are familiar to them without having to search for long,” says Collective Productions’ Tim Huebschle.
The call-out is simple. Post your films and videos to the event if you have a YouTube, Facebook or Vimeo link to the full film and share it with a short description of the film.
“Our goal is to share new posts every day on the event discussion board during the lockdown,” says Huebschle. “It’s cinema, kind of. So get your popcorn ready, put your laptop down next to you, click and watch.”
Already featuring Oshoveli Shipoh’s short horror ‘Resentment’, Joel Haikali’s golden oldie ‘Differences’, Neige Moongo’s experimental animation ‘The Unseen’, Leon Mubiana’s ‘Intruder’ and the first season of Dark Crown Productions’ ‘Untitled’ web series, Lockdown Cinema is just getting started and encourages local film-makers to share their links.
“When watching the hardships artists have been experiencing pre-Covid-19 in a capitalist driven ecosystem, you can only imagine how difficult it is for us now to feed ourselves and any dependants we might have,” says actor Rodelio Lewis, who plays an ex-corporate drone turned artist in the web series.
“’Untitled’ will resonate with anyone who operates in the public or private sectors whether they run their own business, homes or are just open to learn and empathise with other people in a progressive way.”
Just one of the items available on Lockdown Cinema at the moment, ‘Untitled’ will no doubt be joined by various retro and contemporary movies providing an easy little archive of local titles, as well as the almost nostalgic content for a Namibian movie night at a time when the sights and sounds depicted in the films may be out of reach.
Tune in for local stories and the landscapes you love viewed from the homebound safety of the strange new normal.
