The film was produced by Andrew Botelle of MaMoKoBo Video and Research and was co-written and co-produced by Girley Jazama and directed, co-written and co-produced by Florian Schott.
The brief was ‘to produce a film that sensitises teenagers about wildlife crime in Namibia' and the film aims to bring light to the ongoing and important issue of rhino poaching in Southern Africa.
Although the primary audience for the short film is the youth, the content is relevant to individuals of all ages, communities, and organisations affected by poaching, as well as general audiences around the world.
Writers Florian Schott and Girley Jazama chose to tell the story from the inside out - through the eyes of an innocent but toughened-by-life 9-year-old who is deeply rooted in nature and her own heritage. In fact, the name Baxu is short for "!Hubaxu", which means "I come from the soil".
Through this storytelling device which spans time between the age of hunters and gatherers until today, the aim is to reach an audience worldwide and for audiences to understand some of the underlying social issues in rural Namibia that can lead to poaching.
The film stars Camilla Jo-Ann Daries, Wafeeq /Narimab, Anna Louw, Steven Afrikaner, Robert Hara#gaeb, West Uarije and Ashwyn Mberi.
The film was regarded as one of the most anticipated Namibian films of 2019. It had its World Premiere on the 14th of September 2019 at the San Francisco Independent Short Film Festival, where it won the ‘Best Foreign Narrative” award, before being released in Windhoek, Namibia on 19 September 2019 at Ster-Kinekor Grove Mall. It is the first Namibian film to stream on Netflix from the 30th of September 2020.
It received critical acclaim for directing, acting, editing, production design and cinematography. The film was screened at numerous international film festivals and won several awards and nominations.
Executive Producers: Willem Odendaal (Legal Assistance Centre Namibia) & Clive Johnson (B2Gold Corp.)
Director of Photography: Kit Hoffmann
Editor: Robert Scott
Production Designer: Tanya Stroh
Costume Designer / Make-Up Artist: Kulan Games
Music Composers: Lize Ehlers, Karl Ehlers & Imms Nicolau
Sound Designer: Wojtek Majewski
VFX Supervisor: Inna Goroh
Production Manager: Girley Jazama
First Assistant Director: Fellemon Ndongo
Unit Manager: Gerson Gawanab
Synopsis
Baxu, a 9-year-old girl in touch with nature and tradition but toughened by life in poverty, lives with her street-smart older brother Khata and alcoholic grandmother in a village in Damaraland, North West Namibia.
They live a peaceful life until strange men show up and cause change in the village. First the neighbour starts acting suspicious, then Baxu notices changes in her own household.
Keen on finding out what Khata is hiding from her, Baxu investigates and learns that her brother started poaching, in order to improve his family's living conditions.
Baxu has to make a tough decision - will she stay quiet or will she listen to the rhinos, the giants of the Savannah, who she talks to in her dreams and risk losing the people she loves the most?
Production
The 29-minute short fiction film was produced by Andrew Botelle of MaMoKoBo Video and Research and was directed, co-written and co-produced by Florian Schott and co-written and co-produced by Girley Jazama.
The two-week production was filmed in Tubuses in the Erongo Region, Torra Conservancy and the interiors in Windhoek, Namibia.
It was commissioned by the Legal Assistance Centre of Namibia and funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Germany.
The brief was ‘to produce a film that sensitises teenagers about wildlife crime in Namibia' and the film aims to bring light to the ongoing and important issue of rhino poaching in Southern Africa.
Release
On 19 September 2019, six months after filming was completed, 'Baxu and the Giants' was launched in Namibia's capital city, Windhoek, with 450 attendees, including VIPs, NGO and Government representatives, business leaders, members of the diplomatic core, members of the general public as well as the cast and crew of the film. B2Gold Namibia funded this VIP premiere in Namibia.
Distribution
Once production was complete, the producer team intentionally targeted the international film festival circuit to raise the public profile of the final film and to raise more funding for marketing and distribution.
The brief for the film from the Legal Assistance Centre of Namibia was to produce a film intended for rural Namibian audiences as well as audiences in other African countries that have issues with poaching and wildlife conflict - to share experiences.
The producer team purposefully formed alliances and partnerships with key Namibian organisations, government departments, businesses and individuals - this ensured that the film was used and distributed by these other individuals and organisations as well.
The producer team thus did not have to do all the marketing and distribution of the final film, but were greatly assisted by many other partner organisations.
The producer team could then focus on managing and helping others organise film screenings in their own areas for their own audiences. The final film enjoyed the following distribution and (marketing) platforms for different audiences:
Screenings at Ster-Kinekor Grove Mall in the capital city
Free screenings to schools in Windhoek via the LAC mobile screening team
Screenings at B2Gold Education centre via B2Gold Namibia
Legal Assistance Centre mobile cinema screenings in rural areas of North East and North West Namibia
Screenings in Swakopmund via the Scientific Society of Namibia
Ministry of the Environment & Tourism - conferences, workshops and alike
Namibia Film Commission screening as part of the 2019 Namibian Theatre and Film Awards
Mobile cinema tour in Windhoek and North West Namibia by the film producers
Awards
The film 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), the award for Best Director at the Dreamanila International Film Festival, three international Cinematography Awards and it was nominated for Best Humanitarian Film at the RapidLion South African International Film Festival and Best Narrative Short Film at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles, USA where it was also screened for hundreds of school children.
The Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is an annual independent film festival held each March in San Jose, California and Redwood City, California. The international festival combines the cinematic arts with Silicon Valley’s innovation. It is produced by Cinequest, a not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization that is also responsible for Picture The Possibilities and the distribution label Cinequest Mavericks Studio LLC. Cinequest awards the annual Maverick Spirit Awards. In addition to over 130 world or U.S. premieres from over 30 countries, the festival hosts writer's events including screenwriting competitions, a shorts program, technology and artistic forums and workshops, student programs, and a silent film accompanied on the theatre organ. Founded in 1990 as the Cinequest Film Festival, the festival was rebranded in 2017 as the Cinequest Film & VR Festival and expanded beyond downtown San Jose to Redwood City. It took its present name in 2019.
Hosea Kutako International Airport is the main international airport of Namibia, serving the capital city Windhoek. Located well east of the city, 45 km (28 mi), it is Namibia's largest airport with international connections. From its founding in 1965 to the independence of Namibia in 1990, it was named J.G. Strijdom Airport. In 1990 the airport was renamed, in honor of Namibian national hero Hosea Kutako.
The Cambridge Film Festival is the third-longest-running film festival in the UK. Historically, the festival took place in early July, but now it occurs annually during autumn in Cambridge. It is organised by the registered charity Cambridge Film Trust.
The Arlington International Film Festival (AIFF) is an annual nonprofit film festival dedicated to promoting and increasing multicultural awareness and showcases world cinema and independent films in their original language with English subtitles. Independent film producers, directors and actors within the US and abroad are invited to participate in engaging panel discussions and Q&A sessions after the screenings. Each year the festival greets more than 2,000 movie aficionados and shows about fifty films from all over the world with an impressive lineup of premieres. The Arlington International Film Festival also includes a year-round events such as poster contest competitions, pre-festival screenings and art exhibitions with local artists and performances by musicians, singers and dancers.
Katutura is a 2015 Namibian action/drama film directed by Florian Schott about the hard life in Katutura, a township in Windhoek, the capital city of Namibia.
STROOP - Journey into the Rhino Horn War is a 2018 South African documentary film about rhino poaching made by first-time filmmakers Bonné de Bod, an SABC wildlife presenter and Susan Scott, a trained cinematographer. The title "Stroop" refers to the Afrikaans word for poach. Presented by de Bod, the film also includes the participation of Trang Nguyen, Jane Goodall and Karen Trendler. The film premiered at the San Francisco Green Film Festival in September 2018 before receiving a theatrical release in South Africa. It was released digitally worldwide on 12 February 2019.
Joel Haikali is a Namibian director, film producer and writer. Haikali released his first feature film My Father's Son in 2011. He has also produced several short films, including Differences (2008), African Cowboy (2011) and Try (2012). The aforementioned shorts films were screened at the Alliance Française in Swakopmund. Haikali was a former Chairperson of the Namibia Film Commission.
Oshosheni Hiveluah was a Namibian writer, producer, and director. She is best known for the films Tjitji the Himba Girl and 100 Bucks.
Perivi John Katjavivi is a Namibian-Britishfilmmaker. He has made several critically acclaimed films including Eembwiti, The Unseen, and Film Festival Film. Apart from direction, he is also a producer, writer, camera operator, actor, cinematographer and editor. Perivi holds a BA in Cinema from Columbia College, Hollywood in Los Angeles, and an MA in African Cinema from UCT.
Krischka Stoffels, is a Namibian filmmaker. Krischka has made several critically acclaimed films including Gesie in die glas and Tjiraa. Apart from direction, she is also a producer, writer, cinematographer and editor.
100 Bucks is a 2012 Namibian short film directed by Oshosheni Hiveluah and co–produced by Cecil Moller and Mutaleni Nadimi. The film focused an urban story of the journey of a 100-Namibia Dollar-note that passes from hands of wealth to hands of need and through thieving hands.
Girley Charlene Jazama is a Namibian actor, scriptwriter, and film producer. Girley was nominated for the AMAA 2020 award for Best Actress in a Leading Role as Sylvia in 'The White Line. Actress and illustrator. Her dream was to be the first Namibian Actor to win an Oscar. Passionate about acting she was nominated for Best Supporting Role in Theatre for the 2014 Namibia Film and Theatre Awards. She acted in various Theatre and Film productions with international and local directors in Namibia. Her Indian and Nigerian accents are pretty impressive. She has a Bronze Teacher Certificate in Ballroom and Latin. She lives and breathes the characters portrayed on stage and in film. She is interested in making a career of her passion and is interested in any acting projects that will help her progress as an actress and gain experience from experts in the industry. She has her eye set on Oscar and is willing to go the extra mile to see that dream come to pass. In 2017, Girley joined 99FM as the Content Director, where she came up with all conceptual content for the radio station.
The White Line is a 2019 Namibian drama romantic history film directed by Desiree Kahikopo-Meiffret and co-produced by director herself along with Fetteroff Colen, Girley Jazamam, Prudence Kolong and Micheal Pulse. The film stars, Girley Jazama and Jan-Baren Scheepers were in lead roles whereas Sunet Van Wyk, Muhindua Kaura and Mervin Uahupirapi made supportive roles. The film revolves around a love affair between a Black maid and a White Afrikaner Police officer in 1963 after the Old Location uprising.
Namibian Broadcasting Corporation
Susan Scott is a British-South African documentary filmmaker known for her film Stroop - Journey into the Rhino Horn War (2018). Born in Zimbabwe, her British family later emigrated to South Africa where she went to high school. Receiving an athletic scholarship to study in the United States, she lived there for ten years before returning to Africa. Scott films all over the world on conservation themed films. She has been named an Unsung Conservation Hero by Africa Geographic.
Measures of Men is a 2023 German drama film directed by Lars Kraume. Starring Leonard Scheicher as an ethnologist, the film tells the story of the Herero and Namaqua genocide which was perpetrated in German South West Africa between 1904 and 1908. It had its world premiere on 22nd February 2023 at the 73rd Berlin International Film Festival in Berlinale Special. It was released in cinemas on March 23, 2023. Measures of Men is about Germany’s colonial history and relegates the Nama and Ovaherero.
My Father's Son is a 2010 Namibian comedy film directed by Joel Haikali. It stars Panduleni Hailundu, Patrick Hainghono and Senga Brockerhoff. The film explores the cultural clash between urban and rural lifestyles in Namibia, as well as the relation between modern and traditional values.
Kapana is a 2019 Namibian gay-lovestory film directed by Philippe Talavera
and written by Senga Brockerhoff and Mikiros Garoes. The film follows the story of two young men, George and Simeon, who come from different backgrounds but find love in the city of Windhoek, Namibia.
Florian Schott is a German-born filmmaker based in Namibia since 2009. He began his career in 2002 as a First Assistant Director and has since worked on films in Antarctica, Europe, Africa, and South America.
Camilla Jo-Ann Daries is a Namibian actress. She is known for her roles in Baxu and the Giants (2019), Valara (2022) and Measures of Men (2023). Baxu and the Giants is a short children's film written and directed by Girley Jazama and Florian Schott. It was commissioned by the Legal Assistance Centre as a cautionary tale against rhino poaching, with Daries portraying a young and inquisitive character. It was the first Namibian film to debut on Netflix.
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