Do more to tell our local story-Ndongo

• By Martha Nangombe

SINCE the turn of the 20th century, the art of cinematography and the expansion of the film industry has been tremendously influential in the way society looked at art and culture and its role in our communities.

Local film-makers have steadily contributed to the growth of the arts industry with locally produced films improving in quality and content which has seen local productions getting international recognition.

 Fellemon Ndongo, a Namibian film-maker who has been in the film industry for over 15 years said there was room for improvement in the film industry.

Ndongo, a graduate from the College of the Arts in Media arts technology studies where he majored in television productions, also holds Bachelors Degree in Communication from the University of Science and Technology (Nust).

He has been a film freelancer where he has worked on a number of productions as first and second Audio descriptor and production management. He has worked on films such as Baxu and The Giants, Katutura, 100 Bucks, Everything Happens for a reason, Under the Hanging Tree, Uushimba, Paradise In the desert.

“The film industry has to do more in telling our stories.

We need to celebrate our diverse cultures through films with well told stories lines. We have an increase in numbers of interested people trying to break into the industry, such as film students, graduates and practitioners.

We need an improved market starting with stakeholders who understands the power of film making and this will result in growth which will bring in more considerations towards creating investment opportunities in this industry,” Ndongo said.

Ndongo, who will be releasing his maiden film as a solo director, titled Belinda said the film would open doors for him to showcase his talent.

“Belinda is officially the first mark of the many great works to come from my craft as a storyteller through film. I feel humbled and it’s a great privilege to do what I love and seeing the vision come alive from paper to screen,” he said.

Belinda is a story of a brave young woman who became vulnerable after writing and telling her story about her childhood traumas and laughter’s in order to heal.

Ndongo called authorities to give filmmakers access to locations and site for them to shoot scene.

“It’s a great deal to understand that Namibia is not a developed country but has booming markets for her short films mostly because of our diverse culture and beautiful scenary. With that said, I would like to encourage, filmmakers and non-film makers to continue supporting the film industry through your acts of kindness. Sometime simply granting us permission at minimal or no cost to shoot a scene or two can go a long way in helping filmmaker reach their desired outcome,” he said.