Girley Jazama vertol die hoofrol in Under the hanging tree. Foto verskaf
Girley Jazama vertol die hoofrol in Under the hanging tree. Foto verskaf

Namibian film screens at SA film festival

Namibian film-making celebrated
Both the film's director, Perivi John Katjavivi, and lead actress, Girley Jazama, will be honoured as special guests at the much-anticipated Joburg Film Festival.
Iréne-Mari van der Walt
The Namibian film 'Under the Hanging Tree' will be screened at the Joburg Film Festival. Both the film'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', in Windhoek.

The film revolves around a resilient policewoman who must confront dark truths when a man's lifeless body is found hanging from a tree with a rope around his neck.

Looking back

Jazama's character, Christina, consequently delves into old wounds when her investigation leads her to Namibia'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.

'Under the Hanging Tree' also stays true to its Namibian background, incorporating Otjiherero proverbs to indicate various elements as well as references to cultural beliefs, such as Christina's aunt telling her that trees are the 'womb' 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.

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Namibian Sun 2024-05-14

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Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 358.63/OZ UP +0.86% | Copper US$ 4.85/lb UP +2.16% | Zinc US$ 3 006.00/T UP 0.27% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 82.74/BBP DOWN -0.0132 | Platinum US$ 1 034.34/OZ UP +3.29% Sport results: Premier League: Aston Villa 3 vs 3 Liverpool | Manchester United 0 vs 1 Arsenal | Nottingham Forest 2 vs 3 Chelsea | Newcastle 1 vs 1 Brighton | Wolves 1 vs 3 Crystal Palace | Everton 1 vs 0 Sheffield United | West Ham 3 vs 1 Luton Town | Bournemouth 1 vs 2 Brentford | Tottenham Hotspur 2 vs 1 Burnley | Fulham 0 vs 4 Manchester City LaLiga: Barcelona 2 vs 0 Real Sociedad | Real Betis 3 vs 2 Almería | Valencia 0 vs 0 Rayo Vallecano | Atletico Madrid 1 vs 0 Celta Vigo | Cadiz 1 vs 0 Getafe | Athletic Club 2 vs 2 Osasuna | Granada 0 vs 4 Real Madrid | Villarreal 3 vs 2 Sevilla | Mallorca 1 vs 0 Las Palmas SerieA: Fiorentina 2 vs 1 Monza | Lecce 0 vs 2 Udinese | Atalanta 2 vs 1 AS Roma | Juventus 1 vs 1 Salernitana | Genoa 2 vs 1 Sassuolo | Hellas Verona 1 vs 2 Torino | SS Lazio 2 vs 0 Empoli | AC Milan 5 vs 1 Cagliari | Napoli 0 vs 2 Bologna European Championships Qualifying: West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Southampton | Norwich City 0 vs 0 Leeds United English Championship: West Bromwich Albion 0 vs 0 Southampton | Norwich City 0 vs 0 Leeds United Weather: Katima Mulilo: 13° | 31° Rundu: 13° | 30° Eenhana: 17° | 32° Oshakati: 17° | 32° Ruacana: 18° | 32° Tsumeb: 15° | 28° Otjiwarongo: 13° | 27° Omaruru: 13° | 29° Windhoek: 12° | 25° Gobabis: 14° | 25° Henties Bay: 15° | 32° Wind speed: 26km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 13:52, High tide: 07:51, Low Tide: 02:00, High tide: 20:47 Swakopmund: 17° | 24° Wind speed: 27km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 13:50, High tide: 07:49, Low Tide: 02:00, High tide: 20:45 Walvis Bay: 20° | 32° Wind speed: 30km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 13:50, High tide: 07:48, Low Tide: 02:00, High tide: 20:44 Rehoboth: 14° | 26° Mariental: 15° | 29° Keetmanshoop: 19° | 30° Aranos: 16° | 28° Lüderitz: 18° | 35° Ariamsvlei: 19° | 31° Oranjemund: 14° | 29° Luanda: 24° | 27° Gaborone: 13° | 27° Lubumbashi: 13° | 27° Mbabane: 12° | 24° Maseru: 9° | 24° Antananarivo: 14° | 22° Lilongwe: 13° | 26° Maputo: 19° | 26° Windhoek: 12° | 25° Cape Town: 16° | 20° Durban: 17° | 26° Johannesburg: 15° | 23° Dar es Salaam: 23° | 31° Lusaka: 16° | 26° Harare: 12° | 23° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 23.08 | EUR to NAD 19.87 | CNY to NAD 2.54 | USD to NAD 18.37 | DZD to NAD 0.14 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.3 | EGP to NAD 0.38 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.71 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.55 | RUB to NAD 0.2 | INR to NAD 0.22 | USD to DZD 134.05 | USD to AOA 834.06 | USD to BWP 13.6 | USD to EGP 46.8 | USD to KES 129.48 | USD to NGN 1498 | USD to ZAR 18.37 | USD to ZMW 25.25 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index 78632.56 Down -0.07% | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1710.9 Down -2.52% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 13501.46 Down -0.29% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 25339.77 Down -0.16% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9151.06 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 358.63/OZ UP +0.86% | Copper US$ 4.85/lb UP +2.16% | Zinc US$ 3 006.00/T UP 0.27% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 82.74/BBP DOWN -0.0132 | Platinum US$ 1 034.34/OZ UP +3.29%