Euro, Nam film festival starts next week
Celebrating youth in diversity
The 2022 edition of the European Union Film Festival was launched in Windhoek earlier this week and is set to take place over a period of two months, every Wednesday from 5 October 2022 until 30 November 2022 at The Village Opera House in Eros. Best of all is that entrance is free!As the EU celebrates 2022 as the European Year of the Youth, this year’s festival is hosted under the theme, “Youth in diversity: our shared roots for a better future”.
The 2022 EU film festival lines up a number of European and Namibian films, screening 18 films: nine feature films and nine local short films.
The festival kicks off next week Wednesday (5 October) with the screening the Oscar nominated short film “The Invisibles” by Joel Haikali, followed by and “My Thoughts are Silent” presented by the European Union and counterparts from Ukraine.
Speaking at the launch, EU ambassador to Namibia Sinikka Antila, said that they are proud to host the festival here again, following the successful festival last year. “Through this festival, we aim to raise interest and awareness as well as educate local audiences about European and Namibian films. This festival is a result of good cooperation with local stakeholders and strengthening their capacity through workshops targeting upcoming and existing filmmakers.”
Namibian realities
The Namibia Film Commission facilitated and provided short opening films from local film producers, which are diverse but also speak to Namibian societal realities. NFC secretary Florence Haifene commended the collaboration between the festival organisers and NFC, saying: “We are pleased to once again be part of this instalment of the EU Film Festival. We always welcome events that promote Namibian content produced by our film practitioners.”
Apart from the screenings, the festival also presents a 4-day video production workshop in Keetmanshoop from 11 to 14 October 2022 funded by the German embassy and hosted in partnership with the University of Namibia, Southern Campus. The workshop focuses on teaching the fundamentals of filming, script writing and film editing, with the aim to empower participants on how to capture and tell their own stories from their perspective.
The festival is presented by the Delegation of the European Union to Namibia in partnership with the EU Member States (Germany, Finland, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy represented by Italian Club, Belgium and The Netherlands) along with the Ministry of Information Communication and Technology, Namibia Film Commission, Filmmakers Association of Namibia, Camel Eye Productions and Jam Events.
For more info and updates, check out https://www.facebook.com/euffnam/