Last Updated on February 27, 2006 by Paulette Brown-Hinds
Feb. 28 (GIN) – An attempt to produce a film based on the life of former Namibian president Sam Nujoma has run into serious money troubles.
Over $65 million Namibian taxpayer dollars have been spent on the project in addition to donations and support in kind by various companies and institutions around the country.
With most of the cash coming from the Namibian Film Commission set up to nourish the budding Namibian film industry no other new films have received significant support from the Commission in over two years.
Charles Burnett, writer and producer of such classics as Killer of Sheep (1977) and To Sleep with Anger (1990), is handling post-production for Nujoma where others wavered, which starts Carl Lumbly as Nujoma and Danny Glover as Hosea Kutako.
I really feel obligated to make the film work, Barnett said in an interview with the Denver Post, especially because it is a very political film that has to do with Namibians and it looks at the U.S. very critically.
The Namibian newspaper, in an editorial wrote: While it is hoped that the final release of the film will at least publicise the Namibian story abroad, the handling of the whole project, with the continued financial drain on the country's coffers, has left a lot to be desired.