Namibian Feature Film Selected for FESPACO and LA’s Panafrican Film Festival

Joel Haikali, Director of "My Father's Son"

Joel Haikali, Namibian actor and director, already scored a first for his nation when his film My Father’s Son became the first Namibian film to get a distribution deal. Joel was last seen onscreen with Danny Glover and Carl Lumbly in Charles Burnett‘s epic film Namibia, in which he played the young Sam Nujoma. Now he’s on the brink of his own success as a director, with his feature one of many new African films in competition at the Pan African Film Festival – or FESPACO – that kicks off in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso February 26, and runs until March 5. My Father’s Son was also an official selection of the 2011 Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, California, one of the biggest film festivals in the world. FESPACO is Africa’s largest film festival, and occurs every two years. It tells the story of two brothers, one living in a village and another living the city life in the capital Windhoek, who returns with his “colored” wife after 21 years to “rescue” his

brother from his “backward life.” The resistance he encounters eventually forces him to confront his own stereotypes and cultural identity. According to Haikali, the film “seeks to expose the clash between modernisation and the traditional cultural lifestyle, which is a reflection of Namibian society today.” Also in competition at FESPACO is young Kenyan/Ghanaian Filmmaker Hawa Essuman’s magic realist film Soul Boy, which has already been screened at the Rotterdam and Berlin International Film Festivals. Nigerian filmmaker Andrew Dosunmu’s Restless City is another film of note in competition, as is Mozambican Joao Ribiero’s The Last Flight of the Flamingo. There are 110 films and TV programs in competition at FESPACO and 84 being screened out-of-competition. You can view the trailer for Soul Boy after the jump. Afrofusion hopes to bring you insider reports from the 2011 FESPACO in Ouagadougou, so keep your eyes peeled! Bless…