After a brutal attack wipes out her family and village, a pregnant Herero woman embarks on a harrowing journey through the unforgiving wilderness to ensure the survival of her unborn child and preserve her people’s legacy.
At the height of the 1904 Herero–Nama genocide in German South West Africa, a young, pregnant Herero woman named Jorokee flees the smoldering ruins of her village with her husband Unomuinjo, desperately seeking refuge beyond the wilderness. Wounded but determined, the couple braves an unforgiving wilderness stalked by hunger, thirst, and an unseen predator German Soldiers and the on-going war around her, the German extermination order still hanging thick in the air as an ever-present threat of death. As Unomuinjo’s injury worsens, their fragile journey turns into an agonizing test of endurance and love. When she finally buries him beneath the vast Namibian sky, Jorokee must summon unimaginable strength to carry on alone, guided only by the promise of the child growing within her. Her solitary trek through blistering salt pans and silent plains becomes both a physical battle for survival and a spiritual reckoning a hymn of defiance against erasure. In the wilderness’s stillness, she gives birth to her son under a camelthorn tree, naming him in honor of their ancestors and vowing that his life will carry the memory of a people nearly destroyed. By the time Jorokee stumbles into a SeTswana village, gaunt and near collapse, she has transformed from hunted prey into an unbreakable survivor. Her journey is not just one of survival, but of resistance and legacy a mother’s quiet promise that her people’s story will not end with her.
Desiree Kahikopo-Meiffret – Producer/Director
Desiree is an Award-winning producer/director from Namibia. Desiree's participation in the Namibian film and theatre industry spans over 12 years as a performer, actress, creative director as well as playwright. She produced, wrote and directed a theatre play titled' A Lifetime of Blues' that won best set design at the Namibian Film and Theatre Awards 2014. She has worked on countless film sets including 'Fish Out of Water' as a Line Producer by the well-known Namibian filmmaker Vickson Hangula.
Desiree’s award winning debut film titled 'The White Line'has premiered and screened at various international film festivals across the globe and has went on to win Best newcomer director for Desiree and best film script and the Audience choice award at the Namibia Theatre and Film 2019 and went on to win Best cinematographer and Best Feature Film at the 7th African Emerging Filmmakers Award 2019 in Durban, The White Line also got a special jury mention at the 9th Luxor African Film Festival 2020 in Egypt for its direction and won the Kilimanjoro award for Best Feature film in Toulouse, France at the Africlap film festival 2020.
An alumna of Talents Durban 2018, Desiree was recently nominated Best first film by a director at the Africa MovieAcademy Awards 2020 (AMAA). “The White Line” is Namibia’s first film to be submitted to the Oscars 2022 and the Golden Globes.
Desiree with her Namibian company called DEVIne Film Productions facilitated a
Netflix production titled “Fiesta en la Madriguera” that was partly filmed in Namibia of which she was the Namibian Producer on it in 2023.
Desiree also sponsored and executive produced a short film by a young Namibian filmmaker called “Metamorphorsis” by Monika Amunyela, as well as produced a pilot titled “Windhoek City” in optioning stage. Recently directed and produced a short film titled “When the world broke open” in post-production stage.
