Celebrating 25 years of independence, curator Hans-Christian Mahnke has selected some of the best recent namibian short films by young and emerging namibian filmmakers for a very special screening in Berlin.

Namibia, located in Southern Africa, is a relatively young country, having gained its independence in 1990 after a long and fierce struggle for liberation. In 2015 the country celebrated its 25th year of Independence. In order to show some of cinematic works done in this vast but scarcely populated country, we have selected the following short films to present to the Berlin public: The films, all rather recently produced, directed by young emerging filmmakers, shot in the capital as well as outside Windhoek, cover various social topics. Taken in it’s totality, they in some way represent the current trends and challenges of the Namibian film sector.

Film curator and AfricAvenir Windhoek director Hans-Christian Mahnke will attend the screening and will be available after the screenings for a Q-and-A session about the movies and Namibia’s film industry.
“My Beautiful Nightmare”, directed by Perivi Katjavivi, produced by Old Location Films, 12 min, 2012, is a film about a young woman bruised by the city, dreams of escape and the freedom of her childhood. A 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.
The 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.

Everything happens for a reason
Director/Writer: Florian Schott, producers: Edna Knoepfler Awaras, Sophie Mukenge Kabongo, Florian Schott, Desert Rain Films, Magic Touch Films, 2013, English, 14 min. A fast paced short comedy shot in one action-packed take. Our protagonist had better days. His girlfriend is leaving him, there is a strange man following and threatening him and his phone gets stolen. He tries to make things right but whatever he does he seems to be getting into more and more trouble. His actions take him to the Christus Kirche overlooking Windhoek, where he faces all his new enemies. When the police arrives at the scene he seems to be saved – or is he?

Winner Best Short Film AfriNolly Award, 2014, Winner Best Director, Best Editor,  Namibia Film & Theatre Awards, 2014,

Try
24 min, 2012, is a film directed by Joel Haikali.
8 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.

At the 2012 Namibia Film and Theatre Awards, the film won Best Director, Best Production Design, Best Screenplay, and Best Film.

TjiTji
22 min, 2014, was directed by Oshosheni Hiveluah. Tjandjeua – Tjitji, a young, successful and ambitious student, has secret dreams of being the next famous ‘Talk Show Host’. However, Tjitji’s Mother and Father live dutifully, in the time-honoured Himba tradition. Every weekend she returns home to her village, but is concerned that Himba customs and practices, relating to young girls her age, will jeopardise her own personal dreams. She soon learns that her Father is, as is the custom, in the process of arranging for her marriage to a young Himba man, Muasahepi. Tjitji is upset that she’s expected to follow her parents’ wishes for her future and has to make a decision … what should she do, defy her culture to follow her dream?

The film won Best Narrative Film and Best Cinematography at the 2014 Namibia Film and Theatre Awards.
With the friendly support of Brot für die Welt/EED, Katholischer Fonds, Aktion Afrika des Auswärtigen Amts.

Media partners: Africiné, Zentrum Moderner Orient, Club der Freunde von RFI, Berlin Poche, Humboldt University, Exberliner, multicult.fm, Art Labour Archives, Planète Métis, Contemporary &, Initiative Schwarze Menschen in Deutschland, Afroheat

As director and founder of the Namibian branch of AfricAvenir, Hans-Christian Mahnke has been showing quality African films since 2004 at various places in Namibia and other African countries and Germany on a regular and systematic basis, tackling challenges like distribution, screening culture and accessibility of African cinema to African audiences. Under his leadership, AfricAvenir became partner to the 15th Ismailia Film Festival and to 1st Luxor African Film Festival, AfricAvenir was the sole non-Egyptian partner organisation. Besides organizing monthly film screenings in Windhoek, he is co-organized the BAB-initiated Namibian film series called “Namibia in Motion” in Basel, Switzerland. Mahnke has co-created the Namibian Movie Collection to store, showcase, promote and distribute Namibian film products in- and outside Namibia. He is a member of the African Federation of Film Critics and Namibian representative of the short film fund ETISAL. From 2010-11 he served as  Filmmakers Association of Namibia (FAN) Vice-Chairperson and organised the 1stNamibia Theatre and Film Awards in 2010. He currently is a board member of FAN.

5th June 2015 , 8 -11 pm

Hackesche Höfe Kino
Rosenthaler Straße 40/41
10178 Berlin

www.africavenir.org
www.hackesche-hoefe.org