**Article originally published on ARCMND.CO on May 18th, 2024 and written by Etheldreda Esomba 

"There are 3 planes of understanding

(1) We have an intellect

(2) We are spiritual creatures

(3) We live in physical bodies

-- operating on 3 planes of existence simultaneously becuase we lack awareness or understanding about who we are.

It's easy to not feel control

To be unsure of what to do about how to function in an increasingly chaotic and alienating world

A person is successful when they know who they are

And they know where they are going"

For some context, I wasn't expecting to see this film.

And yet, as the theme of fate has lead, I ended up at it's screening + Q&A sesh during the NY African Film Festival (which ends on June 1st by the way!).

Simply Put:

Set in Namibia and derived from his ancestral ties along with the glooms of modernity, Namibian director, Perivi Katjavivi utilizes slow moving shots paired with the tension of suspense to put his spin on a thriller induced film noir. In this tale, we follow the journey of Christina, a young and zealous detective who has moved from the big city to uncover a peculiar mystery involving sacrifice(s), vengeance and reverence in her Aunt's village.

Initial Thoughts:

The film is divided into 5 segments, each quoting a Herero parable alongside its English translation.

With the opening scene taking place during the dead of night and its only source of light being a condensed flame, we're introduced to a man who is feverishly evoking the presence of his ancestors.

Not only is he notably angry.

But he's extremely explicit on his need for revenge and those who are to receive it.

One might even add he's willing to... Get it back in blood eh?

<redacted>

I quickly and eerily realized that this film stood no comparison to my expectations and I was in for a ride, especially considering that I coincidentally had an intrusive thought in relation to the subject as I was en route to the screening.

With such a brisk introduction, I assumed was expected for the audience to keep a keen eye as to how fire may reignite (pun intended) itself as its own character within the film. In retrospect, it consistently served as a pillar of mediation and an indication of chaos alongside its other naturally occurring counterparts. And per the words of the director, fire actually plays a major role in native Herero customs.

Other Themes and Scenes:

Themes:

• >Spritual Colonization

• >Actual Colonization > German waged Herero/Nama Genocide in Namibia

• >Ancestorial connection and reverence in African culture

• >Symbiotic relationship (or rather reflection) between nature and the family/life structure > Sun/Son , Moon/Mother, Tree/Life

Some Scenes That Stuck Out To Me: (once you watch you'll know what I'm talking about):

• >laundry with Aunt

• >big field scene

• >eating at table (x3)

Final Thoughts:

We love to hear it from the horse's mouth!

Aside from being an intricate enough story in the manner that it builds upon itself, I enjoyed the fact that I learned more about African history and Namibian history in particular.

Now, before my introduction to this film I knew Germany was no stranger to performing generational damaging atrocities but upon discovering that they test-ran the Holocaust by performing the 1st genocide of the 20th century on the Herero/Nama ethnic groups with an estimation of over 100,000 murders, nearly wiped out the entire population of what w a s the largest ethnic group in present day Namibia, and then proceeded to withhold the same reparations that were given to said Holocaust survivors (mind you, it can easily be argued that they have a smaller population to pay considering there's only but so many of them left) I quickly understood that this film was extremely personal.

From the fact that this movie was cultivated by a direct descendant, a survivor, to the story that is both fictional and a reality. This film is one that cryptically presents honor and veneration in a way that is equally digestible, entertaining and interactive.

Fun Fact

During the Q&A portion, presented by Black Film Space, I got the opportunity to ask the director about the presence and imporance of nature in the film and how it affected the fate of the production (considering the themes and indirect subject matter) needless to say there were quite a few occurences on set that manifested themselves in ways that could only be defined as fate.

I may or may not upload the audio later... we'll see.

But in the meantime stream the film here while you can.

Play In Peace...Or..Under the Hanging Tree

ACE ♠

Source(s)

https://germanhistory-intersections.org/en/migration/ghis:image-163