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Namibian Craft: the Unknown & the Outsiders.

Namibian Craft: The Unknown and the Outsiders displays a creative narrative of the constantly changing indigenous craft culture through the lens of first-hand accounts and personal stories. Narratives were collected from Namibian master craftspersons, humanities experts, and from the documentarian, Becky Beamer. A personal transformation is inevitable - just like the materiality, craft processes, and meanings behind the indigenous craft products are also transforming and changing. The stories are surprising and inspiring. Namibian Craft: The Unknown and the Outsiders is an intimate snapshot of the current craft culture narrative in Namibia as seen by an outsider.

  • Becky Beamer
    Writer
  • Becky Beamer
    Producer
  • Becky Beamer
    Editor
  • Ryan Van Ert
    Director of Photography
  • Boutwell Studios
    Sound Editors
  • Bryce Beamer
    Assistant
  • Jared Lane
    Assistant
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Natural History, african, documentary, women, craft, culture
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 47 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 4, 2015
  • Production Budget:
    25,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Namibia
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital Go Pro & DSLR
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
Director Biography

Becky Beamer is an Emmy award winning documentary filmmaker and Windgate Fellow. For 15 years she shot and produced documentaries for National Geographic, Smithsonian, Discovery, and PBS. Ms.Beamer now applies her gift for storytelling and photographic techniques to small press publications, installations, and sculptural projects. Her mission is to leave a lasting contribution to the fields of ethnology, journalism, and book arts by pushing the boundaries and borders of those genres. Becky is a MFA Candidate in Book Arts at the University of Alabama. Her current project Namibian Craft: the Unknown and the Outsiders. reflects on the influence of outsiders, like tourist and missionaries, on Namibia’s indigenous craft culture. This project received the University of Alabama's prestigious Graduate Council Fellowship and Creative Research Grant. Social humanitarian and natural history issues remain her primary subjects. Every adventure supplies new inspiration for artistic expression, content and process. www.PAPERisPRETTY.com.

“I believe in the immortality of art & collaboration.
With so many stories to tell, there’s no reason to stay in one place.”

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Director Statement

Namibian art is under represented around the world. This project provides an opportunity to break new ground: digitally preserving Namibian craft culture and magnifying the artisan African voice for a new audience. Namibian Craft: the Unknown and the Outsiders. is a snapshot of the current craft culture narrative in Namibia.