Desert Paradise (2021)

Directed by: Ike Bertels | 87 minutes | documentary

What do you do as the community of an idyllic and remote desert town when the largest employer in the region decides to withdraw? The inhabitants of Oranjemund, Namibia, are faced with this dilemma. Now that the nearby diamond mine is becoming exhausted, the Namdeb company, which is also considered the founder and economic cornerstone of the town, decides to lay off a large part of its employees. The harmonious community fears for its future and decides to join forces to map out a new economic future for the diamond town. Will Oranjemund become a ghost town swallowed by the vast expanses of sand or will the inhabitants succeed in reinventing themselves and their hometown?

‘Desert Paradise’ is above all a film about change and the challenges that people face. Thanks to Namdeb’s presence, Oranjemund was for a long time a secluded oasis in a wild landscape. The company provided job security, decent housing, educational facilities and an above-average standard of living for the region. Crime and racism were and are virtually non-existent in the close-knit community, while the gemsbok (large antelopes with impressive horns) just leisurely walk the streets, the highways and the gardens of the people. An anecdote from a young resident, who tells about her first encounter with crime after a visit to the big city, shows nicely what kind of protected life most residents of Oranjemund lead.

But Namdeb’s intention to leave Oranjemund causes unrest and reconsideration in the remote desert town. How do people provide their place of residence with a new economic base without eroding the sense of community? The film is primarily an intimate portrait of a number of people (a manager of the local Spar, a travel guide, a farmer looking for fertile farmland and a number of young people) who try to answer this question.

Many residents see tourism as the solution (the town is close to some nature reserves, the sea and the famous Namibian sand dunes), while other residents want to transform Oranjemund into an agricultural hotspot or natural retreat for wealthy retirees. At the same time, we see that those ideas are a long-term issue. Tourism and agriculture are still in their infancy in Oranjemund. In addition, there is little start-up capital, as most of the money raised from the diamond mine did not flow back into the community.

The discussion between members of the younger generation is also interesting. Many of them barely see a future for themselves in Oranjemund and fear that their hometown is doomed to turn into a desolate ghost town from a B-western. For them, the more job-rich capital Windhoek or the neighboring country South Africa beckons. However, a boy disagrees and criticizes the fatalistic attitude of his contemporaries. According to him, smart and well-educated young people from Oranjemund have a duty to guarantee the future of their hometown and to steer the transition to new economic revenue models.

Although director Ike Bertels does spin some scenes in ‘Desert Paradise’ very long and the narration of the film is quite slow, the carefully chosen compositions and wide panoramas make up for it. What is especially striking is the contrast between all the (sprayed) greenery in the town and the bone-dry landscape that surrounds Oranjemund. An excellent visualization of the presented theme: postcolonial tragedy with a glimmer of hope and positivism.