Namibian film screens at SA film festival

The Namibian film &#039;Under the Hanging Tree&#039; will be screened at the Joburg Film Festival. Both the film&#039;s director, Perivi John Katjavivi, and lead actress, Girley Jazama, will be honoured as special guests at the film festival, which starts on 27 February in Sandton.Katjavivi already started writing a police series in 2018, and last year, he launched the product of this endeavour, Under the Hanging Tree&#039;, in Windhoek. The film revolves around a resilient policewoman who must confront dark truths when a man&#039;s lifeless body is found hanging from a tree with a rope around his neck.Looking backJazama&#039;s character, Christina, consequently delves into old wounds when her investigation leads her to Namibia&#039;s genocide."My interest is not so much in the genocide as an event. I was not interested in a police film or necessarily the genocide or colonialism. I just wanted to create a piece that touches the mind and the heart, of how it is to live now and look back at the darkness of our colonial history," Katjavivi said in an interview with Namibia Media Holdings last year.The film has a contemporary approach, adopting a noir style of storytelling. Film noir is commonly a dark detective film with stark lighting revealing bleak settings, intricate plots and an underlying existentialist themes.&#039;Under the Hanging Tree&#039; also stays true to its Namibian background, incorporating Otjiherero proverbs to indicate various elements as well as references to cultural beliefs, such as Christina&#039;s aunt telling her that trees are the &#039;womb&#039; from which all people originate."Katjavivi avoids the lure of turning the film into a commercial thriller. Instead, he chooses to tell a story that is slower, more critical, compulsive and impactful," wrote Sarala Krishnamurthy in a review for The Conversation.

Namibian film screens at SA film festival

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-02

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Namibian film screens at SA film festival

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Namibian Sun 2025-04-02

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