Oshakati: Chairperson of the Oshana Regional Council, Abraham Kaushiweni has called for locally produced films to be taken to rural constituencies, saying communities in remote areas deserve equal access to homegrown content and creative opportunities.

According to Namibia Press Agency, the Namibia Film Commission funded the short film following the Kino Namibia workshop that took place in the region last year. The workshop was designed to teach young people in Oshana about filming, directing, and acting. After successfully completing the programme, the competitors won first prize and received a N.dollars 50,000 budget to create a short film. The project was successfully finished and premiered Tuesday night.

Speaking during a film screening at Leo Shoopala Hall in Oshakati, Kaushiweni urged NFC behind the production to expand its sponsorship and outreach programmes beyond urban centres. 'To the commission that is sponsoring, please extend your arms so that we can reach the deep rural areas. People in the constituencies, they wait for such good things. Some of them, do not know whether the Namibians can come up with such very good films. But if you extend it to rural areas, we are going to encourage them and motivate them to come up with those good films,' he said.

He added that taking film initiatives to villages would not only entertain communities but also inspire young people with untapped talent in filmmaking and storytelling. 'There are many of them who have such talent, but it is still not yet uncovered because they have not gotten an opportunity,' Kaushiweni said.

He further emphasised that expanding screenings and sponsorship to rural areas would strengthen cultural identity, promote the use of local languages on screen and ensure that talented youth are not excluded due to their geographic location.