Martha Mukaiwawatched'Back to the Future' during Ster-Kinekor's 'Throwback Cinema' campaign
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“In fact, the shared idea of taking a whole chunk of a weekday afternoon off to watch 'Back to The Future' (1985) during Ster-Kinekor's 'Throwback Cinema' campaign actually indicates we have at least one thing in common.”
Award-winning theatremaker Ndayola Ulenga has recently won the Namibian Theatre and Film Awards' best directing honour for her adaptation of Morgan Lloyd Malcom's 'The Wasp', and has returned from an acclaimed showing of her solo 'Koko' at Theatertreffen in Berlin.
Award-winning theatremaker Ndayola Ulenga has recently won the Namibian Theatre and Film Awards' best directing honour for her adaptation of Morgan Lloyd Malcom's 'The Wasp', and has returned from an acclaimed showing of her solo 'Koko' at Theatertreffen in Berlin.
Frans Nambinga, who last held a solo show in 2008, is currently displaying abstract acrylic paintings inspired by African wisdom, culture and peoples at the Namibian Arts Association. The artist credits his long absence from solo exhibitions to fully booked galleries and time spent working as a DJ and running an arts training school in Katutura.
Namibian filmmaker Curry Barker's supernatural horror film 'Obsession' has hit the box office, following two music store co-workers whose dynamic turns sinister when a wish granted by a novelty item transforms into creepy obsession and violence.
Steven Spielberg's 2026 film 'Disclosure Day', written by David Koepp, follows cybersecurity specialist Daniel Kellner and weather girl Margaret Fairchild as they become caught between a covert corporation trying to suppress knowledge of alien existence and global pressure to reveal the truth kept secret since the 1947 Roswell incident.
Drag Night Namibia's 'Pride Kiki Ball' brought together LGBTQI+ community members and allies for competitions in categories including corporate realness, face, runway, body and performance at Le Roof. The event, held under the theme 'Show us Your Pride', was the first in Windhoek's Pride Month celebrations.
Hyrox, a global indoor fitness race combining running with eight functional exercises like sled pulls, burpee broad jumps, and wall balls, is growing in popularity in Namibia, with Windhoek-based fitness centres hosting simulation events and training classes.
The new film shows how print magazines and newspapers face crisis two decades after the original, with characters confronting layoffs and algorithmic pressure. The story reflects real upheaval in the media industry, including recent mass dismissals at major outlets.
The 2026 film follows Anna, a former aspiring chef turned housesitter, who moves to Tuscany and lies about having an Italian fiancé to build a new life, while navigating her attraction to a local man and the risk of losing her newfound family and happiness if her deception is revealed.
The National Theatre of Namibia and City of Windhoek transported more than 1,700 Grade 8 pupils to see 'Bang Bang', a play about school violence and youth challenges, directed by local theatremaker Veronique Kuchekana-Chirau. The production uses the 'Kilanova Method' to help pupils engage with their prescribed text while exploring issues such as bullying, trauma, criminal violence and teen pregnancy.
A new film starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson follows a couple whose wedding plans unravel when the bride confesses a dark secret at a pre-wedding gathering, transforming the narrative from romantic comedy into an uncomfortable exploration of trauma, forgiveness, and societal judgment.
The Neighbourhood Club, a new restobar in Swakopmund, opened in early December and emphasises craft cocktails made with fresh produce, including house-squeezed limes and homemade syrups. The venue features a cosmopolitan aesthetic with eclectic decor and serves light food offerings like dipping plates alongside its signature cocktails.
The Namibian Theatre and Film Awards held their first ceremony since 2019 at the National Theatre of Namibia, honouring excellence in film and theatre. Top awards went to Rodney Gariseb's 'Naked Spaces' for best staged production and Errol Geingob's 'Speel Aan' for best feature film, with keynote speaker Hakeem Kae-Kazim celebrating artists' resilience through the pandemic.
A year after five-year-old Ingrid Maasdorp's body was found in a tunnel near Okahandja, her killer remains at large and her family has received no justice. The article notes that Roswinds Fabianu and Beyoncé !Kharuxas were also found murdered at Okahandja in the weeks following Ingrid's death.
'The Bride' (2026), directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, reimagines Mary Shelley's gothic story as a tale of a woman reanimated to be Frankenstein's monster's companion, who discovers agency and voice despite being created to satisfy a man's needs. The film blends classic horror aesthetics with contemporary themes of male loneliness, female bodily autonomy, and the silencing of victims of gender-based violence.
The 'Canvas of Namibia' exhibition at Windhoek's Namibian Arts Association features 23 artists and personal items including Hendrik Witbooi portraits, a military helmet and memorabilia from the liberation struggle, celebrating Namibian independence while addressing contemporary issues like corruption and township life.
A review of Emerald Fennell's film adaptation of Emily Brontë's *Wuthering Heights* finds it a bright, romance-focused interpretation that removes much of the novel's gothic and supernatural darkness, sanitises the morally complex characters (especially Heathcliff), and diverges significantly in tone and content from the book.
Vida e Caffè, a popular South African coffee franchise, has opened at Windhoek's Maerua Mall, marking its return to the city after over a decade. The café serves hot and iced coffee, matcha, smoothies and food items, and is the franchise's 42nd international establishment.
Three opportunities are available for Namibian artists and creatives: the National Arts Council invites applications for funding across mediums and disciplines, the Namibian Arts Association seeks submissions for an independence exhibition reflecting heritage and identity, and the Franco Namibian Cultural Centre welcomes emerging artists to exhibit at a group show.
NTFA-nominated films are available on Showmax, YouTube, and at The Film Week (12–15 March), ahead of the Namibian Theatre and Film Awards on 28 March. The author encourages local audiences to engage with nominated films including 'Speel Aan' and '#LANDoftheBRAVEfilm', which each compete for eight awards.
Namibian photographer Nicola Brandt presented her book "The Distance Within" at the Investec Cape Town Art Fair, which explored photographic archives as record-keeping devices. Brandt's work documents Namibia's German colonial and apartheid history while grappling with her own heritage and amplifying voices of descendants affected by genocide and activists engaged in decolonial work.
A new book by historians Bernard Moore and Luregn Lenggenhager titled 'Space is the Ultimate Luxury' explores the competing interests of private conservation schemes, international capitalism, and ancestral land claims of the Bondelswarts Nama community in southern Namibia. The authors argue that modern conservation efforts, intended to rewild endangered species for wealthy tourism, continue a pattern of land dispossession that has constrained indigenous communities since colonial times.
The Namibian Theatre and Film Awards have announced nominees after a six-year hiatus, with the ceremony set for 28 March at the National Theatre of Namibia. The awards have expanded to include new categories such as dance as a recognised genre, and now feature gender-neutral performance awards and additional film categories reflecting growth in the creative industries.
A column on Valentine's Day navigates the emotions of the weekend celebration—from anticipation to potential letdown—and urges readers to practice self-love regardless of romantic outcomes, noting that one day doesn't define one's worth or future relationships.
The Namibian suggests five low-pressure date options for Valentine's Day: making a shared playlist, painting together over wine, cooking an intimate meal at home, visiting a local art gallery, or simply resting together as a couple. The piece notes that Saturday Valentine's Day dates offer more time for celebration without the constraint of work hours.
The Investec Cape Town Art Fair returns to Cape Town from 20–22 February with 126 exhibitors from 23 cities and 490 artists from 44 countries, exploring the theme "Listen". The 13th edition will feature expanded programming, four curated sections, new awards including the Orms International Photography Prize, and exhibitions beyond the convention centre, with Windhoek's The Project Room having participated in the previous year's fair.
Photographer Namafu Amutse is exhibiting at Offenes Kulturhaus Linz in Austria alongside Senegalese and Ugandan artists in 'Wandala – drama. dream. decolonised!', using Namibia's landscapes to explore black masculinity, Aawambo culture, and afrofuturism. Her work resists narratives of limitation and crisis by situating futuristic elements within familiar natural settings, inviting viewers to reimagine Africa beyond dominant contemporary framings.
The National Theatre of Namibia is launching a Stage Actors Training Lab starting 7 February, offering weekly Saturday sessions for amateur and professional actors. Training covers voice, acting technique, movement, improvisation, and professional development, facilitated by experienced local theatre practitioners, with tickets at N$50 per session.
Local songstress Lize Ehlers has released "Call On Me," a collaboration with Shafa The G.O.A.T that debuted on 31 December and won Touch FM's 2026 entry song of the year award and IUM Radio's Battle of the Beats. The track is described as blending Afro-spiritual, alternative soul and cinematic African pop, and appears on Ehlers' album of the same name featuring several other collaborations.