Director and photographer Ndumiso Sibanda has joined Ola! Films; a storyteller with a strong visual eye, a deep love of Africa and its people and a passion for filmmaking that stays with you long after you’ve met him.
The latest campaign for SANRAL is an honest and emotive piece of cinematic storytelling that sees director Batandwa Alperstein beautifully capture human connection. In a departure from the usual road safety campaigns which often use shock tactics to communicate, Batandwa has taken the opportunity to instead show the brand’s humanity by reminding us of what really matters – who the roads lead us to.
SHE DID THAT is a female filmmakers showcase that shines a spotlight on the women in the South African production industry. Although we will only be featuring women and non-binary people, the goal is that it will encourage the inclusion of more underrepresented filmmakers across all production work created by South Africans. This month features Matshepo Maja from The Star Film Company, Emilie Badenhorst from Romance and Emily Bussace from Deliverance.
‘The film industry is desperate for fresh voices. But there are so many barriers in place that don’t allow women, non-binary creatives and people of colour to thrive in the industry. Blackboard and Girls In Film are working together to address this from different angles. We are committed to making the art of filmmaking accessible to the most under-represented communities in South Africa. Change can’t happen overnight but we won’t stop until it does.’
Since joining Arcade almost 3 years ago, director Alexa Wilson has consistently been creating work across diverse genres, from comedy spots, car and finance ads to moodier alcohol commercials. The Alexa thread that is carried through all this work is her strong visual language, local texture and meticulous attention to detail.
Cape Town and Johannesburg-based production company, Robot, has announced that Ayanda Tshabalala will be joining the Jozi team to facilitate the growing demand for commercial work. Ayanda will be bringing her years of industry experience, across various fields in advertising and production, by stepping in as Executive Producer.
Established as a director known for crafting intimate thought-provoking and always culturally relevant work, Lebogang Rasethaba has recently directed two inspiring pieces of storytelling for Apple TV+. The design docu-series Home, features some of the most remarkable houses across the world and the visionaries behind the designs. We spoke to Director and Partner at Egg Films and Co-Founder of Arcade, Lebogang, about the experience of directing two of the season’s episodes; one set in South Africa and the other in Ghana.
‘I sometimes wish I had left the ad agency world sooner, but when I look back I realise I was always working toward becoming a director. Everything I have done and achieved has led up to this moment. Even though technically speaking I have only been directing for a few years, for me, it’s been over a decade in the making.’ Says Art Director turned Filmmaker Thina Zibi.
‘Free Surfers’ is a two-part documentary series honouring two South African surfers who overcame adversity and found their freedom in the ocean. This is a significant piece of South African storytelling, in fact, without it an important part of history might have been lost forever. We go behind the scenes with CCO of Net#work BBDO Roanna Williams and Bioscope Films’ director Kyla Philander.
Over the past 13 years Butterfly Films has established a reputation for being a team of filmmakers that always approaches the work with humanity first. Being around them you can’t help but be energised by how they live and breathe filmmaking. This is equally true for the latest two directors to join the Butterfly family; Directors Sandulela Asanda and Meghan Daniels.
SHE DID THAT is a female filmmakers showcase that shines a spotlight on the women in the South African production industry. Although we will only be featuring women and non-binary people, the goal is that it will encourage the inclusion of more underrepresented filmmakers across all production work created by South Africans. This month features Thina Zibi from Hello Circus, Anna Telford from Butterfly Films, and Thea Small from Darling Films.
It’s been just under a year since director Hallie Haller joined The Rudeboy Collective. Her strength as a storyteller and an energetic collaborator has seen her hit the ground running, not only directing big brand campaigns and TVC’s but also promoting her short film at festivals around the world. Hallie chats about her latest beauty ad that’s not a beauty ad, and how being a human in advertising has paid off.
Follow South Africa’s Cannes Lions Shortlists and Winners right here from the 19th of June. We’ll be updating this page as results are announced – listing all South Africa’s shortlists, showcasing the awarded work, and featuring all the IDIDTHAT members involved.
Here you can find all the winning work awarded by the Creative Circle in the first quarter of 2022. Congratulations to the incredibly talented teams of creatives and filmmakers who made these stand-out projects come to life – you are all gorgeous geniuses, indeed a rare combination.
With Refinery seeing a growing demand for local commercial VFX work, Eddie Addinall and Tracy-Lee Portnoi will be bringing their knowledge and technical expertise to grow the VFX department into the commercial space. Online Flame Artist Eddie will be working collaboratively with the rest of the Refinery departments to creatively drive and lead the team in finishing commercials, while the company will of course be continuing their episodic and long-form work.
Colourists can be film production’s invisible heroes; although armed with the superpower to craft work from a bronze to gold, the truth is, the less you notice the colour, the better it probably was. World-class Colourist and Flame artist, Jarryd Duthoit from Left Post Production shared his insights on the role of Colourists in production, how to get the best out of your collaboration with colourists, and talks colour trends.
Director Jabu Newman has crafted a visually vibrant and unapologetically Gen-Z world for Standard Bank. Reality meets every young adult’s fantasy in the stylish tongue-in-cheek campaign that uses energetic TikTok-inspired transitions to authentically celebrate South Africa’s youth culture.
D&AD Awards celebrate creative excellence in design and advertising. This year's Pencil winners have been announced and include some big hitters from South Africa. Drumroll please ... Pun intended because Chicken reigns supreme again. Romance and director Greg Gray took home a Graphite Pencil for Chicken Licken 'Feel the Fire', which they collaborated on with the meisters from Joe Public United, Deliverance, Marc Algranti Music and Chocolate Tribe. Congrats to all the winners! You can see the winning work and the winning teams behind the work below.
Over 4 years ago JT Moatshe joined Spitfire as their in-house sound designer and music composer. Fiercely in love with film, curious and eager to learn, he worked his way up to videographer and photographer and eventually found his seat at the table as a fully-fledged Spitfire director. JT has already built up quite a reel of content and commercials, but what makes this filmmaker such an agile director is his ability to combine his visuals with his ear for music and sound design chops. Here’s why JT Moatshe should be on your radar.
Congratulations to all the Pencil and Merit winners in The One Show 2022. Special shoutout to the legends at Joe Public, again stealing the show with two Silvers and a Bronze for their work on Chicken Licken🍗. Winners were announced in advance of The One Show in-person awards show which took place on May 20 in New York. Ain’t nobody got time to fly to NY so here we’ve made it incredibly easy to find all the winning work and the winning people who created it.
