Perivi John Katjavivi is a Namibian-British filmmaker. He has made several critically acclaimed films including Eembwiti, The Unseen, and Film Festival Film. Apart from direction, he is also a producer, writer, camera operator, actor, cinematographer and editor. Perivi holds a BA in Cinema from Columbia College, Hollywood in Los Angeles, and an MA in African Cinema from UCT.
Personal life Katjavivi was born in Oxford, England, and has five siblings. His father Peter Katjavivi is a Namibian politician and diplomat, the speaker of the National Assembly of Namibia, his mother is Briton Jane Katjavivi.
Katjavivi grew up in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia. He studied film at Columbia College in Los Angeles where he obtained a BA. He holds an MA in African Cinema from the University of Cape Town.
Career In 2016, Katjavivi made his maiden feature film The Unseen. The film was screened at several film festivals including Busan, in competition at Durban. The film won the award for Best Film at Innsbruck in Austria as well. In 2019, he produced the short Film Festival Film and was co-directed with Mpumelelo Mcata. The film had its World Premiere at the 69th Berlinale in February 2019.
Apart from cinema, he has also written extensively for the Windhoek Observer, Africa is a Country, and OkayAfrica. Katjavivi also contends that aside of being any kind of genre film, ‘Under the Hanging Tree’ offers a unique and arguably unseen window into a contemporary Namibia still grappling with its colonial ghosts.
Filmography
Year Film Role Genre Ref. 2008 The Shop Director Short film 2009 Love Is... Director, producer Short film 2011 Eembwiti Director Short film 2012 100 Bucks Actor: Nolan Short film 2012 My Beautiful Nightmare Director, writer, producer, camera operator, cinematographer, editor Short film 2016 Uushimba (City-Life) Writer Short film 2016 The Unseen Director, writer, producer Feature film 2018 Emoyeni: Nsanguluko Director TV Mini-Series 2019 Film Festival Film Director, producer, camera operator, additional editor Feature film 2023 Under the Hanging Tree Director, writer, producer Feature film
References
External links
The legacy of the first genocide of the 20th century The German Namibian Genocide–What is to be done? An interview with the director of ‘Paths To Freedom’, a film on Namibian liberation White Masks