Local filmmakers want lasting impact from N$17.5m

An agreement signed on 17 August between the arts and culture and the information and communication technology ministries has paved the way for the implementation of Namibia’s National Content Creators Plan (NCCP), a N$17.5 million programme aimed at supporting local film and television production and creating approximately 470 direct job opportunities.The N$17.5 million plan forms part of the government’s broader N$50 million allocation towards creative industries programmes.The plan includes N$8.64 million for a national soap opera, N$3.38 million for limited television series and N$3.5 million for short films in each of Namibia’s 14 regions. More than N$1.73 million is allocated towards equipment access and management programmes, while N$250 000 will support programme administration, marketing and implementation.While the plan is expected to create employment and increase local content production, industry concerns have been raised about whether funding productions alone is enough to build a sustainable film industry.Eline Nyau, co-founder of Trilast Entertainment, said her concern is that “the focus seems to be largely on funding the product – individual film projects – rather than building the industry and businesses that are needed to make filmmaking sustainable in Namibia”.Nyau said the industry also needs skills development, equipment, business structures, distribution networks and capacity.“I would also like to see investment in film enterprises and entrepreneurship – helping production companies become sustainable businesses, supporting innovation, developing local service providers and creating opportunities for creatives to build companies that can employ other people. That is how you create an industry rather than just a collection of funded projects.”For Nyau, the "bigger question is: when the N$17.5 million is spent, what will Namibia have built that remains?”The director of the ministry's directorate of arts, M’kariko Amagulu, however, said the 470 employment opportunities should not be understood as 470 permanent jobs.“The estimated 470 direct employment opportunities refer to positions across the different productions and should not be interpreted as 470 permanent jobs," he explained. "As film and television production is largely project-based, the duration of employment will vary depending on the nature and requirements of each production.”Stimulate the sectorAmagulu said the intention is for the investment to stimulate further production activity.“Importantly, the intention is not for these opportunities to end with the completion of the funded productions," he added.Government, he said, hopes that the initial investment will stimulate further production activity and contribute to the development of a sustainable local content ecosystem that can generate recurring opportunities for artists and creative professionals.” After the agreement was signed, some industry stakeholders worried that the funds will support only a small group of people.Amagula, however, told Namibian Sun that “the programme will be implemented through defined processes and procedures governing participation and selection".He said a dedicated committee will also be constituted to support transparency, fairness and accountability in the process."At the same time, the programme must balance broad participation with the need to ensure that funded productions meet the required professional and technical standards."He said government intends to monitor outcomes including continued production activity, employment and income opportunities, skills development, follow-on productions and the distribution and commercial exploitation of Namibian content.Keep the cameras rollingFilmmakers Association of Namibia (FAN) vice chairperson Byron Joseph said the plan is intended to establish a continuous production pipeline while developing skills.“The NCCP is fundamentally about creating a sustained and continuous production pipeline for Namibia’s audiovisual industry, with local consumption as an important starting point," he said.Skills transfer is also built into the plan, with senior practitioners expected to develop junior practitioners and trainees.“The N$17.5 million is this year’s allocation; it is not intended to be the entire production pipeline for the duration of NDP6. The ambition is for this level of activity to be repeated and built upon," Joseph explained.For FAN, he added, the measure of success will ultimately be whether the investment contributes to a sustainable audiovisual economy.“The real test is not simply how much content we produced. It is whether we have begun to build a sustainable Namibian audiovisual economy around that content.”

Local filmmakers want lasting impact from N$17.5m

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-09-21

Please login to leave a comment

Local filmmakers want lasting impact from N$17.5m

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-09-21

Please login to leave a comment

Subscription Required to Access Content ×

Login

Subscription Required to Access Content