A meisie van Mariental chased her dreams, Katutura lit up the silver screen and the unseen went without even as those in the know celebrated Dutchmen, harvests, the ominous and nothing but the truth at the 2017 Namibian Theatre and Film Awards (NTFAs).
Dazzling and diverse at the National Theatre of Namibia last Saturday, this year the NTFAs made good on its claim to be better than ever, beginning with juries pouring over 42 feature films, shorts, documentaries and music videos alongside 20 plays.
Though all is fair in love and award shows, as ‘Katutura’ swept through seven awards, the post-show whispers were about the neglected ‘The Unseen’ (2016). Nominated six times but leaving the show with nary a trophy, Perivi Katjavivi’s desaturated art house indie has earned accolades overseas but has earned significantly less applause here at home.
“I’m still quite touched by the kind words expressed to me by several people on the night of the awards. In all, we have heard moving testimonies in Oshakati, Windhoek, LA, Cambridge, London, Egypt, Cannes, Lagos, Joburg, Durban, Korea, Germany, Sweden and other places where we have had the opportunity to screen ‘The Unseen’,” says Katjavivi.
“At the end of the day, my favourite filmmakers never win any awards. So I’m in good company. There’s a space for ‘The Unseen’. It might not be at this award show but the film lives and thrives in conversations and communities and festivals here and abroad outside of the glitz of the red carpet. It lives in the hearts of people. And that’s enough. I work for the dreamers.”
“In terms of production values relating to camera work, editing, scoring the film and the sound design, the Namibian industry has shown that it’s a serious player in the southern African market,” says Namibia Film Commission executive secretary Florence Haifene. “Over the next two years we hope to see strong acting performances and uniquely Namibian stories making their mark where the technical aspects of the filmmaking process have paved the way.”
“We also want to grow more entrepreneurs in the filming sector through our incubation project which involves the training and mentoring of Namibians in more specialised film skills, particularly scriptwriting, and encouraging co-productions locally and beyond remains a priority.”
Equally enthusiastic about the future of Namibian theatre is National Theatre of Namibia general manager Alma Ulamba who is highly impressed with the turnaround in entries received over the past two years.
“We’ve had a new breed of directors and actors alike who really worked hard to step up their final presentations for the paying audience members. This is healthy competition that benefits the industry in many ways, for example making the pool of actors and directors bigger,” she says.
“Since there has been an increase in the amount of productions staged, this allowed many of our actors to be employed on several productions, allowing them the space to test themselves portraying a variety of characters.
“The themes have moved on from the norm to themes with relevance to today as audience members can identify with the newer themes.”
Encouraging actors, scriptwriters and directors to keep pushing themselves to the limit in order to take their craft to the next level, Ulamba also urges sponsors “not to limit their sponsorship to the award ceremony only but to help fund the development aspects and staging of plays prior to the awards as this is also employment creation”.
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Winning three awards in a theatre career spanning almost as many decades, won the NTFAs for Best Set and Best Director for ‘Nothing But the Truth’ and Best Supporting Actor in ‘District Six’. “The wins mean that the fraternity is taking cognisance of hard work and have shown their appreciation for your efforts. The wins do not make me number one but encourage me to deliver more of the same work in future because it is liked and valued. The plays are all dealing with social issues and their objectives are to change the perception of people, provide edutainment, inform and create awareness in the society at large. For the industry, they enhance our professionalism and develop the industry won Best Script for ‘Ominous’. “Winning Best Script means I’m doing great work but mostly that there is a place for thrillers in the Namibian theatre industry. I was terrified that people wouldn’t understand my writing and my work since it’s different from the normal plays but this award showed me that being different and unique can be your greatest blessing.”
Endemic Productions director won the NTFA for Best Music Video Director for her sublime interpretation of Elemotho’s ‘Black Man’. “Winning Best Music Video Director means a lot to me, to us – it is a testament to our amazing team and how well we worked together. When women are recognised for work in production in our industry, it is always something to be celebrated, and I am grateful to Elemotho for approaching us to make this video. I hope ‘Black Man’ encourages dialogue, and opens up new discussions and opinions within circles. The lyrics “it’s either freedom for all or no freedom at all” particularly are something I hope viewers dwell on after watching.”
Singing sensation, upcoming NAMA nominee and award-winning actress, won theatre’s Best Female Actor award at the NTFAs. “’Meisie Van Mariental’ was one of the scariest and most personal roles I have taken on and I am very happy my director Sandy Rudd chose me to tell the story of living your best life and being brave. Having adapted the ‘Shirley Valentine’ story with my director into Afrikaans and injecting a very proudly southern Namibian vernacular into this made it even more personal. I still receive messages today of women and men who attended the performances saying it was their story, their lives. ‘Meisie Van Mariental’ is an incredibly important piece addressing self-love. It is a piece about the importance of not forgetting who you are, what makes you smile and what makes you feel alive.”
NTFA Best Production Designer for ‘Coming Home’ in 2014 and this year’s winner for her work on ‘The Harvest: Promethean’, is the production designer to beat at the 2019 NTFAs. “Winning the award for Best Production Design in Film is a huge personal and professional honour. It’s testament to very demanding technical work made with so much love and attention to detail. It’s the reason why working with PageTen Productions and Sean Mitchell was such a gratifying experience. Taking on more challenging roles each time is a humbling learning curve and when you get to experience it with a dedicated cast and crew under the exceptional directorial leadership of Andrew Robson, it makes it all worth it.
Co-writer, producer and star of ‘Katutura’, was proud to see the film win seven NTFAs. “We are all thrilled by this and are humbled by the acknowledgement for the work many people put in over seven years. It sets a precedent for us and encourages us to take standards even higher. For Namibia it celebrates and also recognises Namibian talent which further motivates the industry to work together to produce more films Namibia will be truly be proud of.”
Awarded the Best Male Actor NTFA for his role in ‘One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,’ extends applause to fellow theatre nominees Ashwyn Mberi and Jean-Louis Knouwds. “The journey with ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ has taught me a lot. The character wasn’t easy to maintain but, having visited the mental institution and advocating for the awareness of mental health it was indeed a learning curve. As an actor, it’s important to be versatile. I would definitely like to work and partner up with so many more Namibian directors. The talent is there. The art is there. I just want to work harder.
Former Miss Namibia turned cinema superstar and awards show skipper, won Best Female Actor for her role as Esme in ‘Katutura’. “As they were announcing the nominees for best female actor in film, I kept looking down because I was afraid of the result. Senga is an incredibly talented actress and as much as I wanted to win, she deserved the honour. But as they announced my name, all grace and poise went out the window as I danced my way to the stage. I was that excited! Esme’s story is so personal that I believe many Namibians can relate to her.”
Newcomer won the NTFA for Best Documentary. “This was a Namibian multi-cultural crew and winning the best documentary award for ‘The Mbunza of the Kavango’ is a great achievement. This film is about the loss of culture in a modernised world and this project has provided the opportunity for training and good visual story telling. I think this sort of film needs to be seen by a broader audience of Namibians and that we should archive this content for future generations. Next I would like to develop my skills set in the different aspects of the industry from screenwriting to distribution.”
NTFA clean sweeper and 2014 Best Director won the NTFAs for Best Narrative Film, Best Director, Best Script and the Audience Choice award for ‘Katutura’. Currently on location directing a crime series in Germany, his awards were accepted by his wife, Cherlien. “I am truly humbled by these awards. Making ‘Katutura’ from script to finish was a two-and-a-half-year journey for me, which went on for another two years while promoting the film and travelling with it. Somehow it feels like this adventure just ended now with the awards and the upcoming DVD release. Making films takes lots of time, energy and faith and seeing your work appreciated by these awards, but also by the beautiful response we got from audiences in our screenings around the world, gives me the faith to tackle another adventure.”
Sage and sought-after actress won this year’s NTFAs for Best Newcomer Director and Best Play for her production of Amiri Baraka’s ‘Dutchman’. “More than anything, it’s wonderful to be recognised and appreciated on a national platform. In terms of representation, I think it inspires and drives other creatives who perhaps think that what they want do is impossible. To say that we exist, and are working with the little that we can, to produce the vision we believe in, award or no award. Set in the 60s, ‘Dutchman’ speaks of extreme racial oppression that continues to this day. It speaks of the continuing violence and hate that we have experienced as black people, and that same violence and hate we have accessed amongst ourselves from the experience. It sees the survival and self-reflection of the black person at the end of the day. It felt right to stage it because racism is a growing monster, wrecking us into oblivion these days. I am a storyteller, and will continue to do so. Nolupandu.”
