Launch of “Namibia in Motion” Film Series in Basel, Thursday, 8 May 2014, 6h15 P.M., BAB

AfricAvenir, African Cinema Basel and the Basler Afrika Bibliographien (BAB) invite to the launch of the film series „Namibia in Motion“ on Thursday, 08 May, 2014, 6h15 pm, at the BAB at the Klosterberg 23, in Basel, Switzerland. The opening film will be "Taste of Rain", directed by Richard Pakleppa, produced by Bridget Pickering. A small reception will be hosted after the event.n„Namibia in Motion“ is a film series by Basler Afrika Bibliopgraphien, AfricAvenir Windhoek, and African Cinema Basel. nOn the occasion of the launch, HE Sabine Böhlke-Möller, Namibian Ambassador to Switzerland and UN Institutions in Switzerland, will give greeting remarks.

The title of Richard Pakleppas first feature film from 2012 tells of a deep longing: “Taste of Rain” tells the story of Rachel, who struggles to survive a drought that has hit her farm and her life. A water-diviner brings dramatic changes to her life. She is confronted with a desert deep within herself and discovers a way to survive. nBasler Afrika Bibliographien, Klosterberg 23 in Basel
Thursday, 8. Mai 2014, 6.30 pm.

About “Namibia in Motion”:
A contempary feature film about physical and emotional thirst in a semi-arid country, documentaries about a lost Namibian Kingdom, a documentary about the so called GDR-kids from Namibia, most recent short films from Namibian directors, and a portray of the Namibian Kwaito-musician Ees.

„Namibia in Motion“ in 2014 includes five film events: n

• 8.May: Taste of Rain (2012, R.Pakleppa)
• 24.June: The Power Stone (1999, A.Botelle/K. Kowalski)
• 2.September: Namibian Short Films: Dead River, My Beautiful Nightmare, Try, 100 Bucks
• (2012, T.Huebschle/P.Katjavivi/J.Haikali/O.Hiveluah)
• 23.October: The Ossis of Namibia (2007, K.-D.Gralow/R.Pitann/H.Thull)
• 4.December: Yes-ja! The Kwaito Documentary (2010, E.Sell)

nWith the opening of “Namibia in Motion” in May, the Basler Afrika Bibliographien (BAB) commences their project „in motion“.  “in motion” will present feature, documentaries, and short films from and about Southern Africa on a regular basis. “in motion” will be implemented in partnership with African Cinema Basel.

The initial film series „Namibia in Motion“ is conducted in partnership with AfricAvenir Windhoek. AfricAvenir Windhoek is a Namibian NGO which focuses on cultural support structures for an African Renaissance (www.africavenir.org).
Through it’s film related work, it gives a platform to African filmmakers in Namibia and supports the Namibian film industry with various projects. AfricAvenir is a co-founder of the Namibian Movie Collection and promotes Namibian cinematic products locally and globally.

Basler Afrika Bibliographien
The Basler Afrika Bibliographien (BAB) in Switzerland has been in existence since 1971 as a private specialist library and archive on Southern Africa. It has an international reputation for its extensive holdings on Namibia.
Opening hours: Tuesday to Friday 10:00 am to 5:00pm.
More information under: www.baslerafrika.ch

The Namibian Movie Collection (NMC)
In November 2009, the Namibian branch of AfricAvenir in cooperation with Joe-Vision Production and the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC) launched its joint Namibian Movie Collection, placed at the Multimedia Library of the FNCC. The Namibian Movie Collection currently consists of almost 60 Namibian films. The project is an ongoing one, new films being produced in the country are constantly added to the collection. nWithin a short period of time, the NMC has become one of the most important platforms where Namibian film products are made achieved, accessible, and promoted.nIn the mean time, AfricAvenir Windhoek has become a commercial distributor/agent for some of the films included in the NMC.nSince almost ten years, AfricAvenir Windhoek is conducting a monthly African film series „African Perspectives“ in the Namibian captial.nFurther infomation under:www.africavenir.org/projects-namibia/namibian-movie-collection.html 

African Cinema Basel
The Basel based film series “African Cinema” intends to counter excluding viewing patterns and develop a platform in Basel for films from and about Africa. In addition to watching the films, the framework program provides space to reflect on the films and debate topics around it with filmmakers, ‘experts’, artists and viewers.

Contact:
Christian Vandersee, Director Basler Afrika Bibliographien
Email: hc.akirfarelsab@vc
Tel.: +41 61 228 93 33

Hans-Christian Mahnke, Director AfricAvenir Windhoek
Email: gro.rinevacirfa@eknham.c, moc.liamelgoog@khw.rinevacirfa
Tel.: +264 (0) 855630949

© Copyright AfricAvenir 2014