Swakopmund — The launch and screening of Joël Haikali's short film collection: Try (2012), African Cowboy (2011), Differences (2008) will be taking place on Friday, 16 November 2012 at the Alliance française de la côte in Strand Street 18.

Joe Vision Production proudly presents one of Namibia's finest filmmakers' latest short films, and is brought to you in partnership with the Alliance française de la côte and the Ministry of Youth, National Service, Sport and Culture. With ambition, passion, determination and skill Joel secured his place at the forefront of Namibia's film industry since his humble beginnings 12 years ago. He has directed, written and produced several short films, music videos and his first feature film My Father's Son launched in 2011.

My Father's Son, a feature film was officially selected for the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles 2011; the Pan African Film Festival in Cannes 2011; FESPACO in Burkina Faso in 2011 and the Tri- Continental Film Festival in Johannesburg in 2011. He is the founder of Joe Vision Production cc and his writing, directing and producing credits include: The world of Today, Cul de Sac, Try, African Cowboy and the award winning short film Differences, for which he was invited to the Berlinale Talent Campus 2009.

In 2007 Joël acted along renowned actors Danny Glover and Carl Lumbley in the award winning feature, Namibia the Struggle for Liberation directed by Charles Burnett. He is also the chairperson of the Filmmakers Association of Namibia since 2010, a TV lecturer at the College of the Arts (Cota) and the co-founder of the Namibia Movie collection available at the Franco-Namibian Cultural Centre (FNCC) and online at AfricAvenir.

In Try (2012) the storyline has eight hours, eight people and one city followed by a series of events and circumstances which connect these different lives, with completely different backgrounds from 'one end of town to the other' until they all end up in the city's public hospital, where the rich guy must wait in line and the gangster meets Jesus.

Try is a film about love, friendship, family, loyalty and getting hurt. They all try to ease the pain in very different ways ... It is also about the light on the dark side and the emptiness of the bright side. In the end, it is the realization that no matter where we come from or how we choose to live our lives, there are situations in which we are all made equal. The fast-paced, multiple-narrative drama unfolds in the heart of Windhoek, Namibia.

African Cowboy (2011) is a 13-minute short film from award-winning filmmakers, Joël and Rodney Charles. Shot entirely on location in Namibia, this short film is a contemporary metaphor utilising the Western genre. A Namibian cowboy is beaten and left for dead in the vast desert after standing up to a trans-national group of brutal land-grabbers. However, things change when he is found by a mysterious gunslinger with reasons of his own for getting even with the gang.

In Differences (2009) the idyllic lives of three meticulous Windhoek office workers, one black, one coloured and one white, is disturbed when they suddenly wake up next to each others' wives one morning. This satiric short film challenges the social reality of segregation based on alleged cultural, racial and ethnic differences, which the Namibian society still faces 18 years after independence

A dvd-compilation of all the three films will also be available at the venue. The feature film, My Father's Son will also be available for sale at the launch.