Meanwhile in Namibia

Synopsis

The German government refuses to pay reparations for its occupation of Namibia and the genocide of the indigenous population. Instead, it implements a development aid program, exhibiting the descendants of the victims in a way that draws a bitter parallel to the history of human zoos. A painful film revealing a disheartening neo-colonialism and appalling racism, disguised as solidarity. Festivals 04/26 Visions du Réel (Switzerland) - International Feature Competition 05/26 Dok.fest Munich (Germany) - Winner German Competition 08/26 Dokufest (Kosovo) 10/26 Warsaw International Film Festival (Poland) 10/26 Bergen International Film Festival (Norway) 11/26 Gijon International Film Festival (Spain) Long Synopsis Namibia's rural Herero population - a community once targeted for erasure during the German genocide - is asked to revive the lifestyle of their ancestors and perform it for tourists who are, once again, German. Dressed only in fur skirts, they are expected to present a simple, modest life in harmony with nature and themselves - a pre-colonial idyll purified of alleged distortions by European influence. The concept, designed by German development aid workers, is a revealing confession of persistent desires and an unwillingness to reckon with colonial violence. Is this orchestrated regression anything more than an attempt to undo history? The film sets out to examine the colonial aftermath in the country with the world's second-highest level of social inequality. With a sharp observational gaze and a fine ironic sense for the absurd, the film sketches a micro-sociology of a society shaped by Apartheid: A cleaner is routinely locked into the halls of a German colonial museum during her shift; tourists are camping on the grounds of a concentration camp, ignoring the fragments of human bones lying around; a tour guide nonchalantly categorizes the population of a shanty town as useful or useless workforce using explicit racial slurs, while tourists nod in agreement. The list of such enormities is long. Yet the film relies equally on subtle details - gestures, body language, graphic prints on T-shirts, or just how things are said. While historical injustice persists into the present, the German government seeks to avoid official reparations. Arguing that international law did not apply at the time of the genocide, it deploys legal loopholes to then present development aid as its means of reconciliation. With striking nonchalance, this very development agency is working on a new project: another open-air museum, perpetuating the colonial idea of 'otherness' despite local demands for equality and justice. Meanwhile in Namibia is an episodic documentary film that assembles a variety of locations, people, and perspectives. Through a sober yet biting montage, the film lays bare everyday realities with unsettling precision, leaving no room for easy distance.

Credits

Director

Jonas Spriestersbach

Writers

Jonas

Producers

Jonas Spriestersbach