Two strangers reluctantly get into an arranged marriage, without expecting it, they fall inlove with another. Their love soon proves to be deadly. This is the plot for Namibia’s feature film Hairareb.
It took the director of Hairareb Oshoveli Shipoh three weeks to shoot the film and he shared with Unwrap.online that it was no easy task shooting the movie. Shipoh says he made sure he paid attention to how he shot the film. “As the director of the film I made sure that I paid attention to every small detail on set,” he shared. It was the directors first feature film debut and he says he has learnt a lot from the experience on set. “It was a great and fun experience working on the film and there are many skills I noticed I could do while shooting,” he said.
Popular Namibian rapper, Kadeen Khaoseb who goes by the name KK plays the villian and one of the antagonist roles in film. KK says he plays a manipulative, angry character who is a sociopath. The rapper says although he is a novice in the film industry, if people support local film makers the industry will grow. “With support the film industry can grow into something bigger,” he remarked. He says he learned a lot from his cast members and is grateful for having worked on the film. “My favourite actor on the film is Hazel Hinda and she is supporting act on the film. It was a pleasure working with her,” he said.
The outdoor shots or scenes for the film were done in the morning, late afternoons and during the evening. For indoor scenes the director says they normally shot the film around 11:00 am 15H00 pm. The director says the biggest difficulty was shooting the film in a short time but was happy with how the process yielded. “We were trying to shoot the film in a relatively short time and time management was a huge concern but we successfully managed to finish production and achieve what we wanted with the film,” he said.
Shipoh says there is growth for improvement in the Namibian Film industry. “There are many issues and progressive things happening in the industry. I believe there is a platform where the industry is growing. More and more people are picking up cameras and experimenting and telling Namibian stories. People are being nurtured in the industry and it is growing,” he said.
He says one of the biggest obstacles in Namibia is funding for films and another is a need for a platform where people can access Namibian films. “Funding is always a problem but my advice is to always start with what you have and build something bigger at a later stage,” he advised. He says there needs to a platform were people can get Namibian content. “I think there needs to be a distribution platform where people can buy Namibian films it would grow Namibia’s cinematic world,” he said. He advised film makers to add an artistic value when applying the plot of a movie. “Every story should be simple to understand but unpredictabe for the viewer. This will have viewers focused on the movie,” he said.
The trailer of the film is captivating and striking. Cinematography and the directing seems to be good. The plot will definitely thicken and based on what is revealed on the trailer, the story line will have a lot of people in suspense. The movie feels like a romantic thriller based on the trailer.
Hairareb was shot on a farm in the Kamanjab, Karibib and Otjimbingwe areas. Funded by the Film Commission of Namibia, the movie is executively produced by Dantagos Jimmy-Melani and Ellen Melani under Ndapunikwa Investments.
