SPOTLIGHT ON WINDHOEK
WED 19 NOV
17:00 – 22:00 SINEMA TRANSTOPIA
followed by DJ set by Banu
Free admission
As part of the anniversary programme ‘25 Years of Twin Cities Windhoek – Berlin’, AFRIKAMERA presents a comprehensive programme at Sinema Transtopia.
Namibian director and producer Joel Haikali presents the programme WINDHOEK SHORTS (Namibia 2019–2024) with current short and medium-length films from the Namibian capital. There will also be two discursive formats that deal with the country’s colonial past and its impact on the present, as well as IMAGE RESTITUTION (Work-in-Progress (2025)) by artists Laura Horelli, Hildegard Titus & Mwalengwa Hillebrecht, which shows current reactions in Namibia to a 1975 anti-apartheid documentary, and SORRY FOR THE GENOCIDE (Work in Progress (2025)), a documentary by Wave In Motion Medienproduktion and aditional partners about the journey towards reconciliation between Namibia and Germany.
Following the presentations: panel discussion and audience conversation.
In the foyer, Time Prints Film & Media presents THE SOIL OF THE NAMIB: VR (2023) and A PLACE IN THE SUN (2018), two film works by filmmaker and media artist Christian Zipfel.
Concept and Curation Spotlight on Windhoek: Uta Rügner, Florian Wachinger. In collaboration with Kulturprojekte Berlin GmbH.
The Berlin anniversary programme celebrating “25 Years of Twin Cities Windhoek – Berlin” is being curated and organised by Kulturprojekte Berlin, on the initiative of and in collaboration with the Governing Mayor of Berlin – Senate Chancellery, as well as a large number of partners. Made possible by funds from the Lotto Foundation Berlin.
17:00 SINEMA TRANSTOPIA (KINO)
PRESENTATION WITH FOLLOWING PANEL DISCUSSION & AUDIENCE Q&A:
Introduction and Moderation: Mark Mushiva
SORRY FOR THE GENOCIDE (WORK in PROGRESS)
Germany/ Namibia 2025
Theodora Shandé, Matteo Sant’Unione, Lisa Ossenbrink, Elmarie Kapunda
Is it possible to apologise for genocide? And if so, what should that apology look like?
The initiators of the project SORRY FOR THE GENOCIDE grappled with these key questions during their research, discussions and filming for their documentary about Germany and Namibia’s efforts to conclude a reconciliation agreement. With this agreement, Germany wants to apologise for the genocide of the Ovaherero and Nama peoples.
This is precisely where the question arises: is that enough?
The wounds are still open, and many descendants of the victims are still waiting for genuine recognition, dialogue and justice.
The title SORRY FOR THE GENOCIDE is therefore deliberately ambiguous – with a bitter aftertaste and a certain irony. It represents the tension between symbolic gesture and actual responsibility.
The documentary is a journey through the shared history of Namibia and Germany, which still remains present today. Between 1904 and 1908, German colonial troops killed up to 100,000 people in what is now Namibia – a crime considered the first genocide of the 20th century.
More than a century later, Germany seeks to officially recognize this genocide and issues an apology through the ‘Joint Declaration’. However, the agreement is not universally welcomed: The descendants of the Ovaherero and Nama, who were directly affected, feel excluded. Their voices remain unheard in the negotiations – they demand justice and the right to participate.
The film gives a voice to all parties and addresses the question of how a genuine reconciliation leading to a common future is possible.
SORRY FOR THE GENOCIDE was initiated by filmmaker and Wave In Motion co-founder Theodora Shandé. Born in Nigeria, the producer has a personal connection to issues affecting the African continent. Through this project, she aims to shed light on Germany’s historical responsibility while amplifying the voices of those impacted in Namibia. For her, filmmaking is not merely a medium, but a means to spark dialogue and build bridges between the past and the future.
Matteo Sant’Unione, co-director and producer of the project, presents a film excerpt from the project on the Joint Declaration as part of the event.
IMAGE RESTITUTION (WORK IN PROGRESS)
Namibia / Finland / Germany 2025
Laura Horelli, Hildegard Titus, Mwalengwa Hillebrecht
Laura ildegard Titus, Mwalengwa Hillebrecht, “Image Restitution” (work-in-progress)
“Namibia – the Forgotten Colony”, GDR 1975, was shot clandestinely in Namibia during the country’s occupation by the apartheid regime of South Africa. The film was produced in solidarity with Namibia’s most popular liberation movement at the time, SWAPO. It is one of the earliest anti-apartheid solidarity films set in Namibia. IMAGE RESTITUTION engages with the 50-year-old film through the voices, perspectives and artistic interventions of present-day Namibians. The filmmaking process fostered meaningful intergenerational dialogue around trauma, memory, archival politics and Namibian-German relations in postcolonial Namibia.
The initiators are three women with a deep interest in understanding, learning and restituting Namibia’s film history. Laura Horelli b. 1976: a white Finnish woman living in Berlin; Hildegard Titus b. 1991: a Black Namibian woman now living in London; Mwalengwa Hillebrecht b. 1994: a mixed heritage Namibian woman of living in Windhoek.
Their positionality may be different, but their goal remains the same: IMAGE RESTITUTION, to make sense of the past, to understand how it affects the present and to encourage dialogue for a brighter future. IMAGE RESTITUTION is still a work-in-progress.
Laura Horelli and Hildegard Titus present excerpts from their work-in-progress documentary IMAGE RESTITUTION as part of SPOTLIGHT ON WINDHOEK, marking its first public screening in Germany.
PANEL DISCUSSION AND AUDIENCE Q&A FOLLOWING THE PRESENTATIONS, WITH:
LAURA HORELLI, born in 1976 in Helsinki, grew up partly in Nairobi and London, and lives in Berlin since 2001. As a visual artist and filmmaker she is interested in representations and mediations of the past, taking on a microhistorical approach. She has examined private and public archives in her artistic research, which often results in found footage or photo films.
HILDEGARD TITUS, born 1991 in Otjiwarongo, is a photographer, filmmaker, artist, curator and decolonial activist. She has a keen issue on working on topics of gender, identity, culture and race. She campaigned actively for the removal of the Curt von François statue in Windhoek (2022). Hildegard Titus is currently doing her MA in Gender, Media & Culture at Goldsmiths University of London.
MATTEO SANT‘UNIONE is a filmmaker and founder of the production company cineMars, which specializes in socially relevant topics such as education, democracy, and sustainability. This is also reflected in its slogan, “filming for change.” In addition to his work as a producer, he serves on the board of the Federal Association of Green Consultants Germany, advocating for a fair and environmentally friendly future for the film industry.
MUSHIVA MARK YA MUSHIVA is a Berlin-based Namibian technologist and multidisciplinary artist, whose work reimagines technology as a platform for radical Black thought. He holds a PhD in Human-Computer Interaction from the University of Trento, Italy.
Currently, Mushiva is a computational researcher at Forensis / Forensic Architecture, where he explores the ecological impacts of colonialism and military occupation through the use of remote sensing tools, machine learning and decolonial frameworks of thought.
20:30 SINEMA TRANSTOPIA (KINO)
SCREENING
WINDHOEK SHORTS
Introduction: Joel Kaudive Haikali (director & producer)
The program includes a selection of outstanding short and medium-length productions by filmmakers from Windhoek.
INVISIBLES (KAUNAPAWA)
Joel Kaudive Haikali
Namibia 2019 | OV | 16 min
Two individuals, feeling irrelevant to the world, run into each other at a low point in their lives. Instead of drowning together, they go on a journey of self-love and freedom. By traveling the majestic Namibian outback, the landscape of the psyche of a post-Apartheid nation and theirs, they find their place.
The visual masterpiece by Namibian filmmaker and producer Joel Kaudife Haikali was selected for consideration at the 2021 Academy Awards.
Joel Kaudife Haikali is an award-winning Namibian filmmaker, academic, and creative entrepreneur. Since 2015, he has been running the production company Joe Vision Production (JVP) together with Sophie Haikali, which produces award-winning international films. Their film “Invisibles. KaunaPawa” made it into the selection for the 2021 Academy Awards. They are founders of the CREATIVE INDUSTRY INSTITUTE AFRICA in Windhoek and they have published the Namibian Creative Industry Guide.
PENDAS DILEMMA
Mikikros Garoes
Namibia 2024 | OV | 50 min
The young, ambitious politician Penda Shipanga dreams of wealth and influence, yet he is broke and still lives with his mother in the Katutura township in Windhoek. After a failed attempt to win the heart of his dream woman—the beautiful but materialistic Nangula—he searches for an alternative source of income.
When the wealthy German businessman Hans Schnitzel offers him an enticing deal, it seems as if his luck is about to change: in exchange for money and political support, Penda is asked to help expropriate indigenous land where rich diamond deposits have been discovered.
At first, Penda is blinded by the prospect of prosperity. Through bribery and manipulation, he manages to secure land belonging to the Himba. But when he tries to take over land of the San people as well, he encounters resistance—and his own conscience. When Penda discovers that Schnitzel plans to wipe out the San community with poisoned food, he faces a decision that will change his life…
MIKIKROS GAROES is an Award winning Namibian screenwriter, actress, director and producer. She was studying acting and music in Los Angeles before moving back to her native Namibia in 2017. She is known for comedy films including shorts “TAXI IN WHK”, “THE DATE” and “CHOMMIEs”, which was selected for the Durban International Film Festival in 2018. Her most prominent work is the critical acclaimed Namibian LGBTQ drama KAPANA (2020) which she co-wrote and co-starred in. In 2024 she directed her first full length feature, the political satire comedy “PENDA’S DILEMMA” which won Best Namibian Comedy film at the Namibian Comedy Awards.
WINDHOEK CITY
Vickson Hangula
Namibia 2024 | OV | 35 min
In a small Namibian village, Melody, a talented young woman, dreams of becoming a singer like her father a man who left years ago to chase fame in Windhoek and never returned. Her life is predictable, split between helping her mother, Ti Ma, run the family restaurant and maintaining a stagnant relationship with her controlling boyfriend, Tangeni. But when a mysterious older man named Esau passes through town and hears Melody sing at her family’s bar, he offers her the chance of a lifetime, a path to a music career in the capital city.
Torn between duty and desire, Melody finds unlikely support in her older sister Yolanda and childhood friends Petra and Silvia, who already live in Windhoek and promise to help her start fresh.
After days of emotional turmoil, Ti Ma reluctantly gives her blessing under one condition, Melody must succeed in six months or return home for good. With a heavy heart but renewed determination, Melody packs her bags and boards the bus to Windhoek…
VICKSON HANGULA is considered one of Namibia’s most renowned filmmakers. He has been in the film industry for over 20 years now. His first notable film is the International Award-winning surprise hit film, “Kauna’s Way”,
Hangula has written, produced, and directed well over 15 creative works, which include feature & short films, TV movies, Documentaries, and Commercials. The feature films, FISH OUT OF WATER (2017), and the Comedy Feature, ZULA BOYS (2021) are recent works written, produced, and directed by this filmmaker and actor.. Hangula also did the screenplay adaptation of Namibian Founding President Sam Nujoma’s Autobiography, WHERE OTHERS WAVERED, which today is titled, NAMIBIA: THE STRUGGLE FOR LIBERATION. This multiple award- winning film, is directed by Charles Burnett and stars Carl Lumbly, Danny Glover, Obed Emvula, and Chrisjan Appolus.
He recently produced a film titled WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN that is currently in post-production.
MI 19 NOV
17:00 – 22:00 SINEMA TRANSTOPIA (FOYER)
VR & SCREEN PRESENTATION
Free Admission
THE SOIL OF THE NAMIB: DREAMS
THE SOIL OF THE NAMIB: VR
Christian Zipfel
Germany 2023 | 26 min | OV I 28 min
Germany 2023 I Three 360° VR Episodes | 28 min | OV I 28 min
The movie series The Soil of the Namib consists of the documentary DREAMS and three complementary 360° VR films. The film project accompanies so-called “small miners” who work in illegal, unsecured mines and search for precious stones. In addition to the portrait of the workers, the project deals with the topic of colonialism and thus builds a bridge to German history in Namibia.
SCREEN PRESENTATION
Free Admission
A place in the sun
Christian Zipfel
Germany 2018 | OV I 20 min
The German genocide on Ovaherero and Nama happened 110 years ago. It was acknowledged as such by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2015.The film shows drawn historic footage, which illustrates the former German perception on the Ovaherero and Nama and finally leads to the Hereroday. The genocide and the trauma of the German colonial rule are still present and influence the culture and identity of both ethnic groups down to the present day.
CHRISTIAN ZIPFEL is a filmmaker and media artist. His documentary works have been shown at international festivals, including the 39th Warsaw International Film Festival with The SOIL OF THE NAMIBand the 75th Venice International Film Festival with ROOMS. Since 2021, he has been the artistic director of the research project Volumetric Testimony of Holocaust Survivors at the Film University Babelsberg KONRAD WOLF.
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MI 19 NOV
22:00 – 23:50 SINEMA TRANSTOPIA (FOYER)
DJ Set by Banu
Free Admission
BANU, a DJ and electronic music producer, finds herself between music, sound art installations and research, using music production and DJing as an artistic tool for activism. Growing up in South Eastern Turkey in the underground rave scene and currently based in Berlin, she specializes in techno that is versatile with a groovy bounce, mixing in vinyl and live sets with analog synthesizers. Banu creates uncanny experiences in her DJ sets by using her academic background to sound design unique transitions that blur the lines between music and sound art. She believes in the political possibility of sound and music, which she utilizes as an empowerment tool for minority groups with an emphasis on BIPOC and LGBTQI+ communities.
Banu has played renowned Berlin clubs such as Berghain, and Tresor, along with touring major European and African venues like Bassiani Tbilisi and Modular Cape Town. Banu’s work has been awarded one of the Top Albums of 2022 by DJ Mag and received critical acclaim from other publications such as Clot Magazine. She has won numerous fellowships for her work, including a residency for young music producers in Namibia called Electric Desert. She is also a resident at Refuge Worldwide Radio in Berlin.