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3: African Language Films
  • ISSN: 1754-9221
  • E-ISSN: 1754-923X

Abstract

The new technological development is contributing to the promotion and preservation of African Indigenous languages and cultural heritages, despite claims that modernization is engineering the ‘extinction’ of African cultural heritages. This study examined how the Namibian short film has used new (filmless) technology to stimulate the appreciation of the Ovaherero language and cultural heritage while limiting the adverse effects associated with digital capitalism. Drawing from African oral tradition, this article examines tangible and intangible Ovaherero cultural elements in the film and accentuates their nuances and intricacies. A qualitative research approach is adopted to explore cultural variables specific to the film. In addition, the institutional (economic and political) structures that facilitated the production, consumption and distribution and constraints encountered are examined. This article is positioned in broader critical perspectives and draws from the Third Cinema approaches. is placed in this tradition because it exemplifies a marginalized heritage’s resistance to cultural relegation. The article carves space for indigenous language film in an environment dominated by mainstream visual and literary narratives. It contributes to Indigenous language film literature in Southern Africa. The film promotes and preserves the Ovaherero cultural heritage by serving as this heritage ‘storage’ facility. Moreover, testifies to the use of new technologies in producing creative works as cultural artefacts without converting them into profitable commodities.

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2025-11-25
2026-04-18

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/content/journals/10.1386/jac_00151_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): African cinema; film; language; modernization; Namibia; oral tradition; Otjiherero

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