‘A’felende’ has potential

I watched a four-episode Namibian web series on Youtube and I’d like to share my thoughts.

‘A’Felende’ is headlined by a dynamic cast of four women: Chazz Mubita as Dura, Otja Kooper as Kandi, Mucky Hashona as Ndaps, and Chene Philander as Vee.

It was produced by media personality Sally Jason and written by Leratho Kanime. The two of them served as dual directors for the show that premiered on 21 August.

The episodes are short, averaging ten minutes, but they did manage to be intriguing enough for me to want to see it through to the end.

In an industry like ours, filmmakers must be innovative and ready to produce independent content if they are to tell their stories. In recent years, we have seen an increase in web-specific movies and series, which is a positive.

Jason tells us a web series allow creatives to bypass traditional gatekeepers and connect directly with audiences.

‘A’felende’, she adds, was inspired by real life experiences.

“We wanted to capture the everyday struggles, highs and lows, and the unique culture and humour of our people in a way that’s both entertaining and thought-provoking,” she explains.

The cinematography, handled by AT Digital, is done really well, though I was surprised to see how many of the scenes took place in one location with one camera position.

It almost had the essence of a theatre performance with how the characters were placed in relation to the viewer, how they projected their voices and the way in which the conversations flowed.

This technique is called a ‘bottle episode’ and can often create or elevate tension and emotions, or it can challenge writers and directors to become creative with how they provide variety for our eyes. Jaon tells us the three months of production had a limited budget, so this method is a great workaround.

What I really liked about this show is how real the characters feel. These might be some of the most unhinged women I’ve ever seen in Namibian media, and being able to judge them and laugh at them is entertaining.

This show is full of drinking at work, cradle snatching, adultery, and general snideness.

At a certain point, it does feel like a lot of trauma dumping and exposition though. Both episode one and two start with the ladies arriving at the same location in the same order with drinks in hand. Then they proceed to talk about all their memories as friends.

They do a good job building mystery and I think that helps. While watching the series, I was curious to know the answers to many burning questions. Who is blackmailing Vee and her husband? Who keeps showing up at Dura’s store? Why are these ladies drinking cognac straight from the bottle while at work?

It’s so absurd, it actually kind of works.

There’s a beauty in characters who skirt along the moral grey areas, who are realistic in the sense that they are messy and shady and rude sometimes, just like normal human beings. Jason says this was an injection of realism.

“We wanted to reflect the raw, unfiltered vibe of the characters and their world — basically, they’re just living their truths, and sometimes that involves a lot of Henny!” she says.

As they pitch to TV studios for a possible second season, I’d like to see more character development for each of the girls and their storylines, more audio effects to compliment the change in tone and emotion and more dynamic camera work.

• Anne Hambuda is a poet, writer and social commentator. Follow her online or email her annehambuda@gmail.com.