a film by Marijn Kraak Reimer van Tuinen

a film by
Marijn Kraak
Reimer van Tuinen
Karel Poortman
www.authenticized.nl
logline
With their exotic appearance and unique way of life, the indigenous Himba
people of Namibia are a huge attraction for tourists, photographers and
filmmakers. But authenticity comes at a price.
synopsis
An increasing number of tourists, photographers, filmmakers and television
crews travel to the Himba people in Namibia in search of genuine experiences
and spectacular images. With their exotic appearance and traditional way of
life, the Himba satisfy that need – on request and at the right price.
As they become economically dependent on their own representation, the
Himba now have to live up to their image, while simultaneously trying to
preserve a culture in transition. In the midst of this industry of images,
Authenticized observes the groups on every side of the lens: framing, posing,
paying and performing.
authenticity
The notion of authenticity has been widespread in societies all over the world
throughout history, but especially in times of social and economical disquiet its
appeal seems to increase. A society that is struggling to define its own place
in the world, looks for self-affirmation in things that are considered to hold a
universal, historical or national truth – ideas, experiences and images that are
authentic.
In present times we find an increasing demand for authenticity in our use of,
interaction with and ideas about such diverse domains of our culture as
technology, politics, work, leisure and media. It's in the pictures we upload
through Instagram, in the vintage furniture we buy at excessive prices and in
the preparation of our daily food. It's in the renewed interest in work that
involves traditional craftsmanship and in the popularity of movies that are
based 'on true events'. Authenticity is trending, in both the public and the
private – and on TV.
Television nowadays offers a multitude of reality soaps and travel
programmes about exotic and secluded places and communities. Celebrities,
common people and TV personalities visit primitive tribes in Africa or Asia,
take part in ancient rituals and survival contests in the most remote areas of
the world or live a few days with poor people to experience their hardship. The
authentic experience has proven to be a lucrative market for the tourist
industry as well. Travel agencies compete for the most exotic and profound
holiday experiences, while the traditional beaches and museums are
gradually being replaced by hazardous slums, desolate monasteries, mythical
springs and primitive desert villages.
Television programmes and tourist destinations that exploit the authentic
experience often focus on a culture clash between opposing lifestyles.
Generally they put the affluence, materialism and comfort of 'modern' life in
contrast with the genuine 'simplicity' of local communities that are still
supposedly unspoiled by modernity. Primitivism, traditionalism and in some
cases even poverty thus become signifiers of authenticity for the First World
spectators that seek refuge from the detriments of their advanced civilisation
with its hi-tech bureaucracy, rat-race economy, indifferent consumerism and
depleted environment.
This demand for authenticity, and its particular embodiment in fantasies about
the primitive and the tribal, finds one of its most physical expressions in the
north-western part of Namibia, called the Kunene region, where the Himba
people live. This region is one of the least populated areas in Namibia, with a
population density of one person for every 2 km². The main settlement in the
Kunene region is Opuwo, a city of about 15,000 inhabitants, situated 720 km
north from the capital Windhoek.
The Himba are an ethnic group of about 40,000, mostly semi-nomadic,
pastoral people, that breed cattle and goats. They speak OtjiHerero. Because
of their harsh living environment, their relative seclusion from outside
influences and their socio-political isolation within Namibia, the Himba have
managed to maintain much of their traditional lifestyle. They live under a tribal
structure based on bilateral descent, which is found among only a few groups
in the world. They live in clay sheds. Traditionally they wear little clothing and
both the men and the women go topless and wear skirts or loincloths made of
animal skins. The women cover themselves with otjize, a mixture of butter fat
and ochre, which gives their skins a reddish tinge. Himba boys and girls are
circumcised before puberty. Allegedly, on their eleventh birthday the front
teeth of the girls are knocked out and men are said to kill cattle only by hand.
In short, the appearance and customs of the Himba people cater perfectly to
the cultural demand for authenticity. With their presumed primitive way of
living, the Himba meet with the romantic notion of a world that isn't yet
corrupted by modernity, technology and materialism. As such, the Himba
seem to live up to the image that tourists, photographers and filmmakers are
looking for.
Consequently, since the independence of Namibia in 1990 and the following
increased accessibility of the area, the Kunene region has become a prime
site for international tourism. In recent years the Himba have been appearing
frequently on television shows and in documentaries from all over the world.
Tourism and television are now so ubiquitous in the region that for many
Himba it has become a source of income. Money is earned from tourists and
television crews who visit the compounds, and an increasing number of
Himba have started to work as tour guides, interpreters, location scouts or
production assistants, have set up camp sites, lodges and luxury resorts for
tourists or are providing so-called Himba Tours.
At the same time, the presence of such large numbers of tourists,
photographers and filmmakers means a violation of the very same authenticity
those tourists and media professionals come looking for. Precisely those
aspects of modern life that tourists wish temporarily to escape from, like
smartphones, alcohol abuse and profit-making, are entering the daily lives of
the Himba. As they have become to a large extent economically dependent on
their own representations, the Himba now face the difficulty of living up to the
primitive image that is expected of them, while simultaneously seeing their
traditional ways of life heavily affected by the arrival of foreign visitors and
media. As a consequence, the Himba have to cultivate their own authenticity.
And so the Himba find themselves part of a true, socioeconomic industry of
authenticity, in which tourists, local tour guides, professional photographers,
television crews, camp site owners, municipal officials, film commission
representatives, minority advocates and human rights lawyers all play their
part in creating, recording, monitoring, legitimising and selling authenticity.
Fundamental to this industry is the paradox that can be found in many places
all over the world: that for the Himba authenticating their own culture now
means cultivating their own authenticity.
research context
"This way you'll never get sloppy tits again!" With these words a Dutch middleaged woman tries to persuade a member of a local African tribe to wear a bra
that is white as chalk. The scene comes from the Dutch reality soap Greetings
from the Bush (Groeten uit de Rimboe, 2005). In the show Dutch families
were being followed during their stay with the Himba people – "one of the last
authentic tribes in Africa". The Dutch had to try to adapt to the allegedly
primitive living conditions of the tribe.
Greetings from the Bush is part of an international trend of television shows
that focus on cultural differences. In the Netherlands shows like Holy Shit,
Hollandse Krijgers, Kluners uit Kenia, Hier Slapen Jullie, Britt en Ymke en het
Mysterie van… and, most recently, Welkom bij de Kamara’s have been aired
to popular acclaim. In Belgium programmes like Toast Kannibaal, Allez Allez
Zimbabwe and Belgen in de Rimboe have been aired. In the UK Tribe, Tribal
Wives, Meet the Natives, Fat Men Can't Hunt and Last Man Standing were
broadcast and the Germans could watch Wie die Wilden, Wild Girls: Auf High
Heels durch Afrika and Reality Queens auf Safari. Obviously, culture shocks
produce high ratings.
In 2007 cultural anthropologist Marijn Kraak conducted field research in
Namibia in order to map the production process of Greetings from the Bush
and the public and academic debates surrounding the series. Kraak's
research shows how the cultural differences in Greetings from the Bush were
exaggerated and even staged. In the programme, the Himba were portrayed
as a primitive tribe living in isolated conditions, untouched by modernity,
thereby reinforcing stereotypical images of 'the African' as being exotic,
obsolete and primitive.
In the Netherlands Greetings from the Bush provoked a public debate that
centered on the question whether or not the Himba had been exploited. Kraak
spoke with the participating Himba and found out that they feel both content
and disappointed about their participation: they did make money from the
series and got the opportunity to make a trip to the Netherlands. At the same
time, however, they were dissatisfied about the amount of money they were
paid, the absence of contracts and the false promises that were made.!Also,
they felt strongly about not having been shown the final result, since they
hadn't got a clue, and still don't know, what they exactly participated in.
Despite these disparities the Himba can't be seen as ignorant victims of a
visual culture dominated by the West. They are aware of the appeal of their
culture and actively play along with the image that foreigners wish to see, in
order to make money from it. As such the Himba are turning into an icon of
authentic indigenous peoples and are gradually becoming a multifunctional,
visual 'product', which can be applied globally to various purposes.
Since her research in 2007, Kraak returned to Namibia several times, getting
more and more fascinated about the increasing number of foreign visitors in
the area. Film applications are submitted to the Namibia Film Commission on
a weekly basis, including similarly scripted series as Greetings from the Bush,
as well as many other film and television formats. Clearly, Greetings from the
Bush is not an isolated example, but seems to be part of a larger tendency
reflecting the appeal of Namibia and its inhabitants to television and film
makers. Kraak's research included interviewing Himba who participated in
foreign film productions, filmmakers working in the Kunene area and
representatives from the Namibia Film Commission and the Legal Assistance
Center, an organization that focusses on minorities' rights in Namibia. Kraak
also organized group discussions about framing and cultural representation
with students from The College of the Arts in Windhoek.
director biographies
Marijn Kraak is a researcher, cultural anthropologist and author of 'Greetings
from the Ovahimba. An investigation of the production process of and the
opinions about the reality shows Greetings from the Jungle and Greetings
Back' (Aksant, 2010).
Reimer van Tuinen is a filmmaker and co-owner of Zuis Film. He worked
previously as a curator at the Centre for Culture and Politics De Balie in
Amsterdam.
Karel Poortman is a filmmaker and co-owner of Zuis Film. Previously he
worked as video specialist for Canon Europe.
Zuis Film is a production company based in Amsterdam. Founded in 2001 by
Karel Poortman and Neeltje Pavicic-van der Haak, Zuis Film produces
commissioned and independent work.
Authenticized is the first feature-length documentary by Zuis Film. A second
documentary feature is currently in post-production: A School for My Daughter
follows the well-known Dutch entrepreneur Maurice de Hond in his efforts to
set up the first so-called 'Steve Jobs School' in the Netherlands. Directed by
Neeltje Pavicic-van der Haak, with camerawork by Karel Poortman.
credits
original title
country of production
year of production
running time
original language
subtitles
screening format
Authenticized
The Netherlands
2013
100 min.
television edit of 60 min. available
English | OtjiHerero
English
harddisk | DCP
directed by
produced by
Marijn Kraak, Reimer van Tuinen, Karel Poortman
Zuis Film
research & script
camera
montage
music
Marijn Kraak
Karel Poortman
Reimer van Tuinen
Reinout Verbeek
additional camera
Ben Mberimunako Tjiposa
Karongerisa Ngombe
Tjimanya Kapika
Komumuvanda Tjindunda
Veryonga Tjirambi
Uoviyeni Tjiuuyu
Tjikukae Tjiuuyu
translations
Kapei Barnabas Tjindunda
Marieke van Ommeren
Raoul Köhler
Sacha Naod
special thanks to
Jimmy Elia Tolu
Laura Köhler
Reinoud Degelink
Authenticized has been financed by the filmmakers themselves, partly through
crowdfunding.
featuring
as the tour guides
Jimmy Elia Tolu
Kapei Barnabas Tjindunda
Konsa Tjiposa
Anita Kavezuu Tjambiru
Uvatera Ngombe
Michael Uatiza Hepute
as the Himba
Aitiraike Tjirambi
Kaviruru Kapika
Komumuvanda Tjindunda
Uvaserwa Kapika
as the professionals
Wania
Tony Figueira
Kim Man-Tae
Lim Jong-Myung
Choi Sam-Kyu
as the tourists
Django from Japan
Sergio & Katherine from Italy and the UK
Pierre & Robert from Switzerland
Nuria & Xavier from Spain
Michael, Alissa, Greg & Wesley from the USA
as the bureaucrats
Tjinezuma Kavari
HIPO Hizetjitwa Indigenous Peoples Organization
Willem Odendaal
Legal Assistance Centre Namibia
Vickson Hangula
Namibia Film Commission
Ted Scott
Namibian Broadcasting Corporation
Patrick Tjiuree Mumbuu
Technical Committee Opuwo Cultural Centre
Koos Verwey
Epupa Falls Lodge and Campsite
contact
Zuis Film
Tweede Jan Steenstraat 55
1074 CK Amsterdam
The Netherlands
+31 6 4542 4636
[email protected]
www.zuis.nl
contact for distribution | sales | publicity
Karel Poortman
[email protected]
+31 6 4542 4636
contact for the directors
Marijn Kraak
[email protected]
+31 6 1684 8127
www.vimeo.com/zuis
www.facebook.com/zuisfilm
Reimer van Tuinen
[email protected]
+31 6 4526 4722