‘Hairareb’ scoops 6 awards in Lesotho

Award-winning Namibian film ‘Hairareb’ recently scooped six awards at the King Moshoeshoe Film Festival, and solidified its status as Africa’s best feature film.

The awards – held in Lesotho last month – saw ‘Hairareb’ scooping the best feature film award for executive producer Dantagos Jimmy-Melani and producer Ellen Ernst, the best actress award for Claudine de Groot, the best actor award for the late David Ndjavera, the best director award for Oshovelio Shipoh, the best screenplay award for Aina Kwedhi and the best cinematography award for Antonius Tsoub.

Jimmy-Melani, the executive producer of Ndapunikwa Films, says the team is honoured to be recognised outside the country.“We could not be more grateful to reach new audiences in the African market. To have audiences in Lesotho enjoy the film to this extent is amazing.

“It is totally unexpected, but very much appreciated. I believe Namibian film-makers have a lot to offer all audiences, given that we too enjoy cinema from all over the continent so much.“We have a lot to learn from each other, which can only contribute to the growth and development of the industry as a whole,” she says.

She says some of the cast and crew members were honoured with their first awards.“I felt really honoured and excited – especially by the cast and crew members who received their first awards for this film. They worked very hard on the project, and it feels good that the team is getting this recognition.

Jimmy-Melani says finances were their biggest challenge in the making of the film as they did not have enough sponsors.

“The film was made with a very modest budget from the Namibian Film Commission, which was actually for a short film, but we used it to make a feature film.

“Finances were definitely the biggest challenge. We actually had no financial sponsors for production, but after completing the film, we received assistance from Kalahari Holdings and others to take the film outside the country to festivals.

“We can definitely do much more, the opportunities are too few and far between, and the finance committee are not enough to sustain and grow the local film industry. A great deal more needs to bedone to support and promote our local film-makers,” she says.

“We are very happy with the attention Hairareb continues to receive, and see the film reaching the status of a classic.“We are busy with a number of other projects at Ndapunikwa Films, including a feature documentary titled ‘San People: Out of the Shadows’, which will be released soon, as well as a number of feature films.

“We hope to build on our experiences and to attract the necessary financial support to continue to offer talented Namibian film-makers even more opportunities to showcase their creativity, both locally and internationally.”

Jimmy-Melani encourages local film-makers to use their own resources to build their skills.

“I urge upcoming film-makers to continue to use whatever resources they have to build their skill level, and to approach us at Ndapunikwa Films and Ndapunikwa Investments. We are always looking to develop new, up and coming talent.

“I would like to thank the entire cast and crew of ‘Hairareb’ for their hard work, and the organisers and jury at the King Moshoeshoe Film Festival for this amazing recognition.”

Hairareb is based on a book by August C Bikeur, previously performed as a radio play in the Damara-Nama language, and later developed into a script by Aina Ligola Kwedhi.

Funded by the Namibia Film Commission, the film is produced by Jimmy-Melani, with Ellen Ernst as producer, and Oshoveli Shipoh as director. The film stars the late David Ndjavera, Claudine de Groot, Hazel Hinda and Maximilian Kadeen Kaoseb.

‘Hairareb’ has already achieved a number of continental and international accolades, including winning the best feature film in southern Africa and best director awards at the ninth Sotambe International Film and Arts Festival in Lusaka, Zambia, in September 2022. The film also won the trophy for the best movie in southern Africa at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards ceremony in Lagos, Nigeria, in 2022. – unWrap.online