MISA's Women To Watch 2015: Oshosheni Hiveluah

MISA's Women To Watch 2015: Oshosheni Hiveluah

WINDHOEK, Namibia, 01 May 2015 / PRN Africa / -- Oshosheni is a Namibian-born filmmaker who strives to tell stories exploring and questioning how humans relate to one another and deal with the day-to-day complexities of life.




Raised in the German Democratic Republic and returning to Namibia after Independence, Oshosheni says it was when she moved to Cape Town, South Africa, for university that she really found her creative streak and realised she was meant to be a filmmaker.




"In life we are all trying to figure out what we are here to do, where our strengths lie and how we can use them to impact the world, to leave a lasting impression and become the best version we can possibly be," she says.




"When I came back to Namibia [after studying in Cape Town] I decided to make a choice about what I wanted to do with my life and stick to it. I first did an 8-5 job but was so utterly bored out of my mind I would try think up excuses each day why not to go. Then I quit that and began writing and was doing some theatre and eventually my friends and I wrote a script and before I knew it I had directed a film.




"Since then, filmmaking it has been. Filmmaking has really shaped me into a better person and provided me with amazing opportunities to travel and meet filmmakers from around the globe and see films I would otherwise never have access to seeing."




Being a woman in film




Oshosheni says "there are still too few women as head of [film] departments, maybe in costume/ wardrobe and make-up but in other areas it's very male dominated."




"To be one female and having to stand up for your vision can be a challenge especially when people might think you might not be as good as a male for whatever reason."




Oshosheni recalls experiences where "people would just stare at me while I was explaining what I wanted because they found it so hard to have a woman tell them what to do, it's a twisted mind-set that needs to be set straight. I am not bossing you around, I am explaining and sharing the vision for the film so we can work together to achieve it."




"I am very well aware that I can't make a film by myself", she says, "but characters like that, you just don't call them again… It's about being professional on a job".




Advice to women entering the film industry ...




Know what you want to do and be firm. Know who you are, the type of stories you want to tell, the conversations you want to arise out of the films you make.


Most importantly, be kind to people, everyone from the runner to the


Executive producer. Everybody helps to make your film.




Finding her fit




Oshosheni says she didn't so much choose the film industry, as it chose her, "I wrote a script and then I directed it and then I just knew we fit, it's like finding the perfect glove for your hand," she says.




"I just knew I was created to do this I have a deep rooted passion for storytelling ... I remember my first visit to the cinema was a mind-blowing experience, I will forever treasure it.




"It took a little while to figure out how to contextualise all my interests and realise that I should actually be making films ... I would see images in my mind and moods and think about themes. That's how I started writing, then I got into theatre, but I felt it wasn't enough and then when I got to film, I was like 'Aha this is IT! I have arrived. This is what I am going to do'."




Looking to the future




Oshosheni wants to see more women making local films and telling interesting stories – and more money devoted to making it possible!




"More women directors would be great, more women producers and executive producers who can fund more films dealing with women issues. "I feel there is a need for women to tell their stories from their perspective, it's a personal thing, a delicate touch is required … women are strong, amazing, powerful and they can also be delicate, fragile and vulnerable". She also wants to see more opportunities for young black directors to do commercial and feature films. "There is really a lack", says Oshosheni, "I mean if I think that this year was the first time a black African director was nominated in the Oscars for Best Foreign Film, yoooo!"


SOURCE Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)

Media Institute of Southern Africa (MISA)


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