Tired of being filmed by the cameras of the world without ever having a say, 20 Himba people of Namibia decided to step behind and in front of the camera to make a film about themselves.

Solenn Bardet, French writer and film director, met the Himbas as a young geography student some 18 years ago when their territory started opening to the world. The Himbas who took her in and adopted her in 1993 had never seen a lighter or a camera. In the past two decades she witnessed the evolution and changes in their world. Despite the many film shootings - including some in which Bardet herself was involved -, not one single Himba had ever seen any of the documentaries or feature films in which they participated.

This is why Solenn Bardet, over the past four years, organized regular nomadic film projections within Kaokoland with a large piece of cloth hung between acacia trees. Despite the fact that the films brought immense pleasure to the Himbas, they felt slightly misrepresented by how the world portrayed them. This is how Solenn Bardet developed a project in which the Himbas could make a film which would be theirs and in which they would actively participate from beginning to end.

Les Himbas font leur cinéma ! en DVD par colinebeuvelet

Led by Solenn Bardet and her friend Muhapikwa, a group of 20 Himbas of different gender and age will introduce their world in front of the camera: their mythology and origins, the key events in their history, their day-to-day life, the ceremonies and relationships they have developed with their ancestors, the lure and dangers of modern life, the changes that are imposed on them and the ones they have chosen…

The 52 minute documentary The Himbas are Shooting! will be screened in the FNCC Cinema on Saturday, 11 August. The accompanying photo exhibition Ondjongo - The Making of "The Himbas are Shooting!" will open at the Blue Frog Restaurant on 9 July until 11 August.


VENUE
Franco Namibian Culture Centre (FNCC)
118 Robert Mugabe Avenue
PO Box 11622
Windhoek
Tel: 061 387 330