A selection of independent documentaries I produced while living in Namibia and South Africa from 1995 to 2005.

Master Positive

A documentary short about an HIV-positive man who makes papier-mâché coffins to deflect the high cost of funerals in Namibia. Master Positive was selected for funding as part of a commissioned series, Steps for the Future. The series was aired across Africa, Europe, and Australia and received Honors at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in 2001 and the Canadian BANFF Media Festival in 2002.

Producer, Director, Writer, and Editor Kelly Kowalski ︱Director of Photography Andy Botelle ︱Executive Producers Don Edkins and Laurence Dworkin

The Power Stone

This 56-minute documentary follows the historical journey of a sacred artifact that symbolizes the Kwanyama kingdom of Angola and Namibia. Passed down through generations by appointed guardians, the sacred stone disappeared after the death of the last Kwayama king, reappearing nearly a century later on another continent. As told by oral historians matched with archival accounts, photographs, and recovered footage, the story of the stone reflects a history of a people who endured tumultuous decades of colonialism, missionaries, and war until Namibia’s independence in 1990 and a reinstatement of the kingdom in 1998. Financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland and produced with permission from the Kwanyama Kingdom Council, the documentary was broadcast in 1999. Over a decade after its original release, The Power Stone won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Afrykamera Film Festival in 2011.

Producer and Director Andy Botelle and Kelly Kowalski ︱Director of Photography Andy Botelle︱Writer and Editor Kelly Kowalski

The Song in Your Head

This half-hour documentary follows a Zulu theatrical youth troupe hailing from Durban, South Africa. Cameras follow the troupe as they rehearse The Song in Your Head, a culturally colliding musical combining traditional Zulu performance with Western experimental drama, taking the show on the road to theaters and festivals throughout Holland. The documentary was commissioned by Theatre Embassy with funding from HIVOS in 2005.

Producer, Director, and Editor Kelly Kowalski ︱ Producer Fre Hooft Van Huysduynen︱Photography Guy Delancey and Kelly Kowalski