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Karlovy Vary Industry Days spotlights four queer film projects in development, including Namibian pre-colonial romance
The Apex Times

THE APEX TIMES

Culture/The Apex Times/Jul 6, 6:08 AM EDT

Karlovy Vary Industry Days spotlights four queer film projects in development, including Namibian pre-colonial romance

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s industry program opened Monday with a lineup of queer stories in development presented on the KVIFF Industry Days stage, in partnership with Midpoint Institute’s Midpoint Focus Queer.

3 min readEditor-approved Apex article

The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s KVIFF Industry Days opened Monday with a focus on new film projects in development, including a spotlight on selected queer stories presented in collaboration with the Midpoint Institute’s Midpoint Focus Queer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the program featured four projects showcased to industry participants, covering multiple genres and geographies.

Among the films pitched, The Hollywood Reporter highlighted “Nuusiku,” described as a directorial debut from Namibian filmmaker Laudika Yandangii Hamutenya, with production led by Jérémie Palanque under Woooz Pictures. The project is described as an action, drama, and queer romance, written and directed by Hamutenya, and set to be filmed in Oshiwambo, with production ties to Namibia and France.

The “Nuusiku” synopsis presented at the industry stage centers on Nekomba, a 21-year-old performance artist who tries to recreate a childhood dance she once performed with an aunt. The dance is described as something she believes could summon physical ancestors, and her goal is to reconnect her westernised Owambo culture with its spiritual roots.

Instead of the cultural reconnection she expects, the story follows Nekomba being transported to a precolonial village, where she confronts a way of life far removed from her present. The pitch, as reported, says she falls in love with Nuusiku, a young woman characterized as embodying queer freedom within her culture, while also confronting a central conflict involving Nuusiku being chosen to be sacrificed as a companion to a dying king.

The Hollywood Reporter reported that the fourth project set in the spotlight round also included “Unholy,” “Skeeter,” and “Selamlik,” which were pitched alongside “Nuusiku” during the KVIFF Industry Days presentation. The outlet described the overall selection as spanning different genres and locations, but did not attribute additional plot specifics in the packet available for this coverage.

The festival’s industry programming, presented on the KVIFF Industry Days stage, is structured as a meeting point for filmmakers and buyers, with Midpoint Focus Queer providing a framework for projects aimed at queer narratives. The showcased slate reflects a broader emphasis on development-stage works, rather than completed releases, with the pitches serving as exposure for filmmakers seeking partners, financing, and distribution pathways.

As of the Monday presentation at KVIFF Industry Days, “Nuusiku” remains a development project with a stated creative team and concept pitch, while the other three titles in the queer spotlight are likewise in development. Further information on casting, production start dates, and attached partners was not included in the available reporting packet.

Taken together, the KVIFF Industry Days queer spotlight underscores how major European festival industry programs continue to use structured pitching sessions to bring regional stories to international stakeholders, particularly for filmmakers whose work intersects questions of identity, culture, and community belonging in narrative form.

Why It Matters

  • Festival industry stages like KVIFF Industry Days provide early visibility that can affect how development projects secure financing, partners, and production timelines.
  • Queer-focused selection criteria tied to Midpoint Focus Queer can shape which narratives receive international industry attention and how they are positioned for buyers.
  • For the filmmakers attached to “Nuusiku,” the presentation is an opportunity to translate creative concept development into concrete production commitments.
  • The spotlight’s mix of genres and geographies points to ongoing market interest in internationally legible storytelling anchored in specific cultural contexts.

Sources

Key Facts

  • Karlovy Vary International Film Festival’s KVIFF Industry Days opened Monday with a spotlight on four queer film projects in development.
  • The queer spotlight was presented in collaboration with the Midpoint Institute’s Midpoint Focus Queer program.
  • “Nuusiku,” highlighted among the projects, is a directorial debut from Namibian filmmaker Laudika Yandangii Hamutenya.
  • “Nuusiku” is produced by Jérémie Palanque under Woooz Pictures and described as an action, drama, queer romance written and directed by Hamutenya.
  • The “Nuusiku” pitch follows Nekomba, a 21-year-old performance artist who is transported to a precolonial village and falls in love with Nuusiku, who is chosen to be sacrificed as a companion to a dying king.
  • Other projects in the queer spotlight were titled “Unholy,” “Skeeter,” and “Selamlik.”
Karlovy Vary Industry Days spotlights four queer film projects in development, including Namibian pre-colonial romance | The Apex Times