“Local Films for All” – Martha Mukaiwa on the Namibian Movie Collection

With local films enjoying a two night screening at one of the capital’s exhibition spots followed by a slow fading into celluloid obscurity at best, the founding and development of the Namibian Movie Collection is a boon to national filmmakers and fans alike. Founded by Joe Haikali of Joe-Vision Production in association with AfricAvenir and the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre in 2009, the Namibian Movie Collection currently boasts over 40 films made by Namibian filmmakers amidst foreign films relevant to the Namibian film sphere.n“In making films, the Namibian people are able to tell their own stories and share many themes with viewers here or elsewhere,” said special advisor Mvula ya Nangolo on behalf of the Honourable Minister Joel Kaapanda upon his acceptance of the Namibian Movie Collection, on behalf the MICT, in the capital last week. “The medium of filmmaking is crucial in promoting the culture of the Namibian people within the country and outside the borders of Namibia.”nHowever, despite local filmmakers’ best efforts to create stories relevant and reflective of Namibian life, there is the eternal obstacle of finding platforms for distribution, promotion and exhibition and for many the development and circulation of the Namibian Movie Collection is the first step towards the endurance of their cinematic identity. nIn as much and in a bid to encourage promotion of their film products, filmmakers agreed to grant non-commercial rights of their films to be part of the collection and the FNCC granted space in its Multimedia Library for public access. n“Of course, this is a never-ending collection", says AfricAvenir Windhoek Representative, Hans-Christian Mahnke. “We are busy getting older Namibian films from the archives and we hope more filmmakers come on board and that new productions will be given to the collection in future.”nCurrently there is one collection in residence at the MICT, a collection will be donated to AfricAvenir Berlin, two full copies were donated to AfricAvenir Windhoek by the German Embassy in June and the complete collection can currently be rented from the Multimedia Library at the FNCC in the capital.nThrough this and via exposure on the AfricAvenir website, which enjoyed over 80 000 hits from visitors who browsed with an express interest in African Culture, art and film,  Mahnke hopes that “the number of Namibian filmmakers will grow, enabling Namibia to tell its own stories and present their Namibian perspective to the world.”nFor more information on the Namibian Movie Collection please visit www.africavenir.org