Kulan Takes Casting Continental

The Namibian film industry has spat out some serious gems.

Among them is Kulan Ganes, a make-up artist turned casting director who is making massive moves in her already interesting career and expanding the reach of her abilities.

After working tirelessly alongside many big names in Namibian film and theatre to bring stories to life for almost 20 years, Ganes decided to relocate to Cape Town, where she has now officially launched and registered her casting company.

A casting director and coordinator plays a crucial role in film, television, theatre and other productions.

Pencilled Casting was born purely by chance.

Ganes gave us some insight into the fast-paced world of film producing, and how being on a set can teach you more than initially anticipated.

This is how she found her calling and made the transition from dressing the stars up to running her own agency that searches for and manages talent.

In Namibia, Ganes worked on countless big projects in this role. By the end of 2022, however, the entrepreneur knew she could do so much more if she took a leap of faith and started over in a city that never sleeps.

“For me to actually advance and do the things I really wanted to do, I had to be in a place that would allow me to learn, grow and maybe potentially give back to what I was leaving,” she says.

Fast forward to now, Pencilled Casting is officially and legally registered as a South African business entity.

This has opened many more doors for her, although it hasn’t been without its challenges.

“It’s been hard, because obviously the South African market is big, but it’s also very saturated with equally or even more qualified professionals than me […]. You kind of have to push through doors and break down windows to get in, and you have to be very tenacious,” she says.

Being a creative in a city of four million people no doubt has its benefits, and even more so when you consider its film industry generated around R5 billion for the local economy during 2022 and 2023, according to Invest Cape Town.

VAST AND VARIED

“I think Cape Town is just so vast and varied. There’s just so much creativity even in the simple things […]and I can’t wait to be part of that,” Ganes says.

As a Film Association of Namibia (FAN) member who has served on its board twice now, she is heavily invested in the forward momentum of filmworkers and their rights, and wants to open a conversation with stakeholders like the minister of information and communication technology, advertising houses, film entities, the ombudsman and the Business and Intellectual Property Authority on how the country can work towards making sure filmworkers are paid fairly.

It is very important to Ganes that rates are improved across the board.

“I’ve always seen film-making as a three-legged pot. If one leg breaks, everything falls apart,” she says.

She also feels that Namibian cast and crew members should up their game and be driven by a passion for the job before anything else.

What she would like to see more of in the local space is new names, faces and ideas, she says.

“I’m looking forward to new directors and more people making really Namibian stuff we can actually grasp,” Ganes says, adding that she hopes to see more work by female filmmakers like Lavinia Kapewasha, Mikiros Garoes, Girley Jazama, Senga Brockeroff and Jenny Kandenge.

ADVICE

Her main piece of advice to others trying to make it in film is to not take things too personally on set.

“Nobody cares about your feelings and people will always do what is good for their business and for themselves,” she says.

These are a few things she has learnt along the way and hopes will take Pencilled Casting to great heights, though she leaves things up to what is meant to be as opposed to stressing over what the future holds.

“I can’t really say what my end goal is. When I did make-up, I also could not say what my end goal was, and I didn’t think I would ever not be a make-up artist. I’m very lucky to have found two true loves in my career.

“I want it to bring me joy as much as it would bring joy to the cast, the producers and other professionals.”

She says being a Namibian has greatly added to her success, because it has equipped her with the necessary skills of being charismatic and open.

It has also prepared her for the long hours and hands-on work that isn’t always as glamorous as it may appear.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS

A few memorable moments in her career might just make up for that, though.

In her years as part of the Namibian film industry Ganes says she has made unforgettable friends and business connections.

These include dressing Will Smith when he filmed National Geographic’s ‘Welcome To Earth’ in Namibia in 2021, meeting Meryl Streep and Eddie Redmayne while attending The British Academy Film Awards (Baftas) in 2017, meeting Tiffany Hadish at a televised comedy show in Cape Town this year, mingling with the likes of Charlize Theron and Tom Hardy while working as make-up artist on ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, which was filmed in Namibia, and others she jokingly says are too salacious to disclose.

Ganes says if she’s not working, she’s unwinding with a casual five-kilometre run or a nifty do-it-yourself craft project.

She says she manages to balance being creative with being a business person and knowing when to delegate, but also being willing to learn. Pencilled Casting has expanded from being a solely Namibian entity, she says.

Oh, and if you want to be cast by her, she says: “Just be at the right place at the right time.”

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