IMAGE RESTITUTION, Work-in-Progress Screening, Creative Industry Institute Africa, Windhoek 15.10.2025

A work-in-progress version of IMAGE RESTITUTION was presented at the Creative Industry Institute Africa, where the creative producer of the film, Joe Vision Production is based. The screening was part of the 25 Years of Twin Cities Windhoek-Berlin festival. The event was particularly significant as some of those in attendance were featured in the documentary as well as a high-ranking SWAPO politician. This direct encounter between cinematic documentation and lived memory lent the screening great emotional depth and opened up a multi-layered exchange.

The ensuing discussion demonstrated the importance of coming together to watch, remember and talk openly in order to confront trauma and history. Audience members were inspired to consider the documentary’s emphasis on a united Namibian national identity and how that can be applied to the ethnic and racial divides that persist to this day. The audience observed a contrast in the perspectives centered in Namibia – the Forgotten Colony and IMAGE RESTITUTION. They thought about IMAGE RESTITUTION’s audience and wondered how it will be received in Germany and the importance of shedding light on the colonial oppression and genocide in Namibia which often get shrouded or completely ignored in the broader landscape of German history.

In this work-in-progress screening, special attention was given to the film’s composition and pacing and how these creative elements influence the story being told, connecting particularly to the film’s quiet sincerity. They asked questions about the editorial process and offered insight into what worked and what didn’t, while acknowledging the difficulty of finding an ending to a film that is as much about looking towards the future as the past.