A national production still in the making
One film seems to stand out from the national production. It is called, quite simply, Namibia (2007) and is directed by the American Charles Burnett. This epic tale recounts the events of the resistance led by Sam Nujoma until he took power at the time of the country's independence from South Africa. The film, co-produced by the Namibian government, is consensual to say the least. The revolutionary of the time was soon transformed into a man of power who, as is often the case, has difficulty leaving his post.
The Namibian filmmakers who seem to stand out, mostly white, are often committed, like Richard Pakleppa. His film Taste of Rain (2012) chronicles the misadventures of a farming couple in the face of drought. He recently co-directed Dying for Gold (2018), a documentary about the deplorable working conditions of miners throughout southern Africa and their untimely deaths.tim Huebschle is another Namibian filmmaker who has come to prominence over the past decade. He frequently collaborates with black filmmakers and artists, such as in 2011 with screenwriter and author Nailoke Mhanda, based on an idea by the latter, for the script of Looking for Iilonga, a short fiction film he was making around the capital city of Windhoek. He also won the Namibian Film & Movie Award for Another Sunny Day, in the best documentary category in 2017. Since 2020, he has been co-directing the documentary webseries Walking Forward with the transdisciplinary artist Ndinomholo Ndilula. The latter puts himself in the picture, interviewing in the course of the episodes figures of the artistic and cultural scene of Windhoek.
Historical or anthropological documentaries
As in many African countries, Namibia attracts documentary filmmakers and anthropologists. Namibia, the genocide of the Second Reich looks back at the exactions committed by Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. For the first time in history, a state planned and executed the extermination of two peoples of the south of the continent: the Nama and the Herero. It was co-directed by Fabrice Launay, Michel Pignard and Anne Poiret, who were awarded a star by SCAM in 2013. The same year, Eddy Paridaens' First Encounter with the Himba was released. The documentarian travels to the north of the country in the Kaokoland desert, where these people live and raise their cattle.
More recently, Au coeur de l'Okavango allows us to follow, along 2,500 km of river and through three countries, the ravages that human activities have had on the Okavango Delta, a region in the heart of Botswana that is among the last wild wetlands in the world. The explorers' journey will take us to northern Namibia along the Okavango River, which serves as the border with Angola and on which the lives of nearly one million people depend.
Some international productions
It is in Namibia that the Australian George Miller plants part of the sets of Mad Max, Fury Road. This return of the cult saga was a big hit when it was released in 2015. In a succession of epic chases, Max finds himself accompanying "Imperator" Furiosa in his fight against "Immortan" Joe.
The war film The Red Scorpion (Joseph Zito), an American and South African co-production, was also shot in Namibia in 1988. It follows the journey of Nikolai Rachenko (Dolph Lundgren), an elite soldier sent to Namibia to support the Soviet and Cuban troops.
