Donald Matthys, The Namibian Economist | January 28, 2020
Local short film, ‘Baxu and the Giants’ will have its first public screening of the year at the DHPS Auditorium, on Thursday, 6 February. Entrance is free but any donations to the Save the Rhino Trust will be welcome.
The award winning short film tells the story of how Rhino poaching triggers social change in a village in rural Namibia, seen through the eyes of a nine year old girl, will be screening in February and March 2020 in Windhoek and various villages in North-West Namibia, as well as festivals around the globe.
Original photo as published by The Namibian Economist.
‘Baxu and the Giants’ was commissioned by the Legal Assistance Centre with the aim of sensitising teenagers to the issue of poaching in Namibia. Producer Andrew Botelle (‘The Power Stone’, ‘Born in Etosha’) enlisted Director and Co-Writer Florian Schott (‘Katutura’) and Co-Producer/Co-Writer Girley Jazama (‘The White Line’) to craft an emotional story out of this difficult issue.
The short film which premiered last September so far screened in nine countries and won multiple international Awards, including the Award for Best Foreign Narrative at the San Francisco Independent Short Film Festival, three Namibian Theatre- and Film Awards (including Best Female Actor for 10 year old Camilla Jo-Ann Daries), two international Cinematography Awards and two Awards at the Knysna Film Festival in South Africa.
International Festivals where ‘Baxu and the Giants’ will be screening in the coming two months include the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, the Toronto Black Film Festival, the Children’s Film Festival Seattle and the RapidLion International Film Festival in South Africa.
In addition to this the LAC and MaMoKoBo Video & Research is organising a series of school screenings for Windhoek students as well as free screenings for the public in Windhoek. Lastly, the ‘Baxu and the Giants’-Crew will take the film back to villages in North-West Namibia, where the film was shot, as well as the coast.
All of these screenings will lead up to the Global Release of ‘Baxu and the Giants’ in mid-March. At this time the film will not only be available on DVD but also for streaming worldwide via YouTube and Vimeo.
