‘Kapana’ Coming Soon

It’s an all-star affair for Philippe Talavera’s ‘Kapana’ (2020). An upcoming film featuring a script by Senga Brockerhoff and Mikiros Garoes starring ‘Salute!’s’ Adriano Visagie.

Set amidst the smoke and sizzle of Windhoek’s famed kapana market, the film introduces newcomer Simon Hanga as the second lead and features the talents of Felicity Celento, Elize de Wee, Foreversun Haiduwah, Albertina Hainane, Jeremiah Jeremiah, Lukas Paulus, Dawie Engelbrecht and Garoes.

“We like to describe ‘Kapana’ as an unconventional, positive Namibian love story – pun intended,” says Talavera who directed and produced the Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (OYO) film.

“It’s a story of two Namibians who have nothing in common and yet, against all odds, will fall in love. It explores themes around love, secrecy, fears, commitment. It looks at the fabric of our society and some of the fears we have – what is forbidden, what is morally acceptable, etc.”

Shot at various locations in Windhoek over October and November last year, the film is a signature OYO production in as much as it is not produced solely for entertainment purposes and is focused on considering social issues. However, ‘Kapana’ is markedly different from previous OYO productions as it the first time OYO has outsourced screenwriting.

“The brief for this specific project was complex – even a bit scary to be honest. I felt it needed a feminine touch,” says Talavera regarding his decision to enlist Garoes and Brockerhoff.

“It’s a very masculine story in many ways. It was therefore interesting to create those characters with two remarkable female screenwriters. And let’s be honest: how much more talented can you find than Senga and Mikiros? ‘Every Woman’ and’The Date’ are among the best scripts ever produced locally. It has been an absolute privilege to work with them and then to work from their script.”

Eager to give ‘Kapana’ an unprecedented edge particularly in the wake of ‘Salute!’s’ success, the film also employs Kit Hoffman as the director of photography.

“I think ‘Kapana’ will be fairly unique,” says Talavera. We worked this time with director of photography, Hofmann who is brilliant. I don’t think we have ever gathered so many acclaimed (acting) talents before. And while most of OYO’s films are drama – often with a dramatic ending – ‘Kapana’ is much lighter. It still touches on very deep issues but we hope it will offer hope and simply be remembered as a beautiful love story.”

With many scenes set at the kapana market over the two-day shoot as cast members devoured the Namibian delicacy between takes, Talavera believes the dish is almost a character in a film boasting many familiar locales shot singularly by Hoffman.

The next step after the success of ‘Salute!’ Talavera hopes ‘Kapana’ like its predecessor will get people to react strongly – hopefully positively – to the film in which newcomer Hanga is tipped to make a lasting impression.

“We still have a lot of work to do in terms of editing, scoring, post-production, etc,” says Talavera who estimates its premiere to be around the second half of the year.

“We hope it’ll get people to talk – it is after all what OYO is good at – and we hope it will help some people to realise that we are after all in the 21st century: love, and let love.”

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