A study on the development of a post independence film industry: A case study on the Namibian film commission

Abstract

This paper discusses developments within the Namibian film industry with the focus on the Namibian Film Commission (NFC) as the government agency mandated to spearhead these developments. It also discusses how the NFC makes use of the Film Development Fund in training and educating upcoming filmmakers and how the Namibian Filmmakers Association uses their allocation of the fund to run their operations. Drawing on the theoretical framework centred on the positivist approach to film and television research. Built on the assumption that the media help shape public opinion, trigger and influence social change in improving society. This research stresses the functionalist rather than a behaviourist analysis. Functionalism analyses society, not as an organism, but as a system consisting of different parts of subsystem. It is recommended that the NFC involves stakeholders such as tertiary and vocational education institutions involved in film related training to build capacity for local and foreign production crews. While also promoting for the autonomy of the Filmmakers Association of Namibia