AfricAvenir Windhoek and Friends of Namibia present “Namibian Short Film Screenings in London”, 12 December 2013, 7h30, Harecourt URC

On Thursday, 12 December 2013 at 7.30 pm AfricAvenir and Friends of Namibia (UK) invite to the London Premiere of 4 Namibian Short Films at the Harecourt URC, St. Paul’s Rd, Islington, London, N1 2lR nFree EntrancenNamibia, located in Southern Africa, is a relatively young country, having gained its independence in 1990 after a long an fierce struggle for liberation.
In order to show some of the cinematic work of Namibian filmmakers to the London public, AfricAvenir and Friends of Namibia (UK) have teamed up and present four short films from Namibia, all of them having been produced in 2012. nThe four films represent the magnitude of the current challenges and trends, Namibian society is faced with today. nThe films are:n

• My beautiful Nightmare, by Perivi Katjavivi, 12 min, 2012
• Dead River, by Tim Huebschle, 34 min, 2012
• 100 Bucks, by Oshosheni Hiveluah, 24 min, 2012
• Try, by Joel Haikali, 24 min, 2012

nA Q-and-A with cineast, curator and film critic Hans-Christian Mahnke, director of AfricAvenir Windhoek, will follow the screening of the films.

About the films:nMy Beautiful Nightmaren"My Beautiful Nightmare", directed by Perivi Katjavivi, 12 min, 2012, is a film about a young woman bruised by the city, dreams of escape and the freedom of her childhood. nA girl spends her evenings prostituting herself out on the streets of Windhoek. But when a client roughs her up the experience leaves her shaken and forces her to rethink what she’s doing and how far she has come from the sweet little girl she used to be. nThe film won the Best Actress award at the 2012 Namibia Film and Theatre Awards. Furthermore the film was awarded the Radwan El-Kashef Independent Shaba Foundation Award at the 2nd Luxor African Film Festival 2013.nTrailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI3WcR5cI1s n

Dead Rivern“Dead River” , 34 min, 2012, was directed by Tim Huebschle. The film-soundtrack was composed and performed by legendary cinema composer Alessandro Alessandroni. Set against the backdrop of Apartheid in Namibia during the 1980s, ‘Dead River’ follows the unlikely friendship between a black boy and a white girl. David and Lisa are deeply connected and then forcefully separated after a sweet childhood encounter, but events take a turn for the worse when they meet again as young adults. 20 years later Lisa returns to the setting of her childhood to face her past at Dead River.nThe film won the Narrative Short Film Award at the Silicon Valley African Film Festival, as well as the Audience Choice Award for Best International Short Film at the Festival Pontino del Cortometraggio in Italy. Dead River was also nominated in the Best Short Film category at the 2013 African Movie Academy Awards. nTrailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k_bHDm2DZwn

100 BucksnWhat would you risk for the love of money?

"100 Bucks", 2012, 25 min, directed by Oshosheni Hivelua, is an urban story of the journey of a 100-Nam-Dollar note that passes from hands of wealth to hands of need and through thieving hands. Through the journey of the currency brief insights into the lives of different characters is revealed that weave in and out of each other’s lives and the daily struggles they face. nThe film won the Audience Choice Award at the 2012 Namibia Film and Theatre Awards.nTrailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p70jwhg9Zfk

nTryn“Try”, 24 min, 2012, is a film directed by Joel Haikali.n8 hours, 8 people, 1 city: A series of events and circumstances connects different lives from completely different backgrounds from one end to the other end of town until they all end up in public hospital, where the rich guy must wait in line and the gangster meets Jesus. ‚Try‘ is a fast-paced, multiple-narrative drama about love, friendship, family, loyalty, revenge and the serendipity of life unfolding in the heart of Windhoek, Namibia.nAt the 2012 Namibia Film and Theatre Awards, the film won Best Director, Best Production Design, Best Screenplay, and Best Film.nTrailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEIuxSGxRVk