Goals
In making this film we sought to integrate cultural “insider” and “outsider” perspectives. We wanted a film grounded in local experience to resonate with Namibian audiences, in order to share our research program with the nation that has hosted it. We also wanted to effectively share the film and research program with international audiences, including Switzerland, the nation that has financed the project. This means explaining some local conditions and norms, while bringing attention to aspects that seem to be universal to the human experience.
The team and roles
The core team included three US citizens and four Namibians. Dr. Amber Gayle Thalmayer (pictured above - wearing scarf ), who took the lead in planning, coordinating, and implementing all aspects of the film and conducted most interviews, is a Swiss-based American research psychologist who has been conducting research projects in Namibia since 2018. She has spent many months in Namibia and gotten to know its people, politics, history, and culture. Marta Van Patten (pictured with the camera in both shots above), the cinematographer and director, has lived and shot films in Southeast Asia as well as North America, but was new to Namibia.
Namibian Team Members
The four Namibian team members recruited the 14 film participants, communicated with them and their families about the project, helped refine the interview questions, were present at various interviews, translated where needed, and provided input during editing. The Namibian team included three scholars based at the University of Namibia.
Clinical psychologist and senior lecturer Dr. Elizabeth Shino (pictured above left), organizational psychologist and lecturer Dr. Annelisa Murangi (pictured above right) lead the Namibia side of the Africa Long Life Study, and are longstanding research partners with Dr. Thalmayer.
Namibian Team (cont)
Linguist and lecturer Dr. Sylvanus Job (pictured above above left - in the foreground) recruited, traveled, and interpreted for Khoekhoe language interviews. Selma Uugwanga (pictured above right), a licensed clinical psychologist from Namibia and current PhD candidate at the University of Zurich under the supervision of Dr. Thalmayer, played a key role in developing a complementary curriculum and was closely involved throughout the process.
Rounding out the team
Joel and Sophie Halikali (pictured above left - foreground) of Joe Vision Production Company in Windhoek provided oversight and their team member Consalo ‘speedy’ Hangula (pictured above right - foreground) served as our driver and fixer throughout filming. Dr. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett provided pre-production funds and ideas based on his theory of emerging adulthood, and scientific communication experience.
The film participants
The fourteen 18-19 year olds were recruited by the Namibian team with the aim to balance gender and include as many ethno-linguistic groups and regions as possible. Finding young people who were relatively outgoing and open to be filmed was also key! Due to travel limitations, young adults from the Northeast, speakers of Rukwangali and Subiya, were found in Windhoek. In several places, recruitment involved other supporters, including University of Namibia master’s student Ms. Rijama Thessa Maundu and her cousin, schoolteacher and now Africa Long Life Study Research Assistant Mr. William Tjipundi for Opuwo, school teacher Ms. Jennifer Nganjone in Gobabis, and schoolteacher and Africa Long Life Study Research Assistant Ms. Elverado Awases in Khorixas. Socio-economic status was not explicitly considered in recruitment. We would estimate, however, that the 14 participants are relatively representative of the typical lifestyle diversity experienced by Namibian youth.
