The Delegation of the European Union in Namibia and its Members States in collaboration with the Local Film Industry launched the 2022 European Union Film Festival today (27/09/2022), at the Europe House in Windhoek. The festival takes place over a period of two (2) months, every Wednesday from 5 October 2022 until 30 November 2022 at The Village Opera House, Liliencron Street, Eros. Entrance is Free!

As the EU is celebrating 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 will line-up a number of European and Namibian films, and will screen a total of 18 films: 9 feature films and 9 local short films. The Festival will kick off next week Wednesday, 5 October 2022 at the Opera House with the screening the Oscar nominated short film: “The Invisibles” by Joel Haikali, followed by and “My Thoughts are Silent” presented by our European Union and counterparts from Ukraine.

H.E. Sinikka Antila, EU Ambassador to Namibia said; “We are proud to host the EU Film Festival in Namibia this year again, following the successful festival last year. Through this festival, we aim to raising interest, awareness and educating the local audiences about European and Namibian films, as well as strengthening cooperation and communication between the EU and Namibian public & local partners.” She added, “This festival is a result of good cooperation with local stakeholders and strengthening their capacity through workshops targeting upcoming and existing filmmakers.”

The Namibia Film Commission facilitated and provided short opening films from local film producers, which are diverse but simultaneously speaks to Namibian societal realities. Ms Florence Haifene, the Secretary of NFC commended the collaboration between the festival organisers and NFC as she said: “We are pleased to once again be part of this instalment of the EU Film Festival as the film regulatory body in the country.  We always welcome events that promote Namibian content produced by our film practitioners.”   

Apart from the film screenings, the festival will present a 4-day video production workshop in Keetmanshoop, from 11 – 14 October 2022 proudly funded by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany and hosted in partnership with the University of Namibia, Southern Campus. The workshop will focus 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.

Ambassador Antila concluded by saying, “The Euro film festival is aligned to the cultural strategy pursued by Namibia and the EU, with the aim to promote and develop arts and culture, fostering cross-cultural dialogue and inclusivity, contributing to regional and international integration.”

The European Film Festival provides a wonderful opportunity to come together and share this experience that will take us to different countries, cultures and life stories. The EU and its stakeholders hope that the European Cinematic experience will be enriching for our audiences, inspirational and ignite energy and innovativeness in these often challenging times we find ourselves in.

The festival is proudly brought to you 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. Our Namibian counterparts in hosting the festival are the Ministry of Information Communication and Technology, Namibia Film Commission, Filmmakers Association of Namibia, Camel Eye Productions and Jam Events.