Star Films’ Wim Steytler has established himself as a performance director who blends realism with the otherworldly. He can’t help but bring his love of symbolism and the mystical to each set he steps on, adding layers of meaning paired with strong attention to detail. Let’s get to know the man whose journey into filmmaking started in the most unexpected way.
Six countries, ten cities, 17 days, and 54 awards to their name – Carling Black Label was on a fact-finding mission to investigate who else had as many accolades as them. Ogilvy South Africa had one burning question, ‘Who on earth could solve this massive, production-heavy project?’ With Executive Producers Mmameyi Mphahlele, Melina McDonald, and Lorraine Smit at the helm, Darling Fling had the skillset and solutions to bring this ambitious globe-trotting campaign to life.
Executive Producer Gaye Leong unpacks Together Films’ approach to establishing and living their own brand values through a process that emphasises the importance of being human-centric, outlining a clear storytelling journey, involving the right people, and creating impactful endings. With this approach, Together Films is able to tell, and create, compelling stories. This ensures that their work – ranging from commercials to content to documentaries – resonates with audiences, addressing their needs and fostering a meaningful connection with the brand.
Triple Story Content is shouting from their rooftop that directors Lauren Chengan and Ken Kamara are joining their roster of independent talent. According to Executive Producer Monareng Makwetla, both Lauren and Ken perfectly embody the philosophy of Triple Story Content, which values multi-faceted directors who understand the industry from various angles.
Each year we team up with a partner to bring the South African ad industry all the Cannes Lions coverage and most importantly celebrate South Africa’s creative work and strengthen our unique ad culture. As we gear up for the festival, we are excited to announce our partnership with production company, LITTLEBIG. Thanks to the team’s support IDIDTHAT is yet again able to bring home all the Cannes 2024 news. Having won Gold at Cannes themselves, LITTLEBIG understands the significance of Saffas supporting each other internationally. Thank you for joining us in championing South Africa’s creativity.
Mark your calendars! On September 14-15, 2024, Chocolate Tribe, in collaboration with Netflix, proudly presents the third annual AVIJOZI Festival. This world-class festival spotlights Film, Animation, Visual Effects, and Interactive Technology, including Gaming. We spoke to Festival Director and the leading force behind AVIJOZI, Nosipho Maketo-van den Bragt to find out how the festival has levelled up this year and what exactly we can expect. Whether you're a professional filmmaker, a gaming enthusiast, or starting out- you won’t want to miss AVIJOZI 2024!
To meet Bathandwa Ngwendu a.k.a. ‘Gorgeous Bushman’ is to be reminded that the world is a vast place full of things to be discovered. He has a unique, open, and curious point of view that he brings not just to his work, but to every interaction. His move to Johannesburg has found him a permanent home at Gentlemen Films, where his intimate storytelling approach meets the vast experience of the team.
Jabu Newman’s latest campaign #ForeverWena is an unashamed, unafraid story about sexual health and choice. Cementing her reputation as a director who is fluent in speaking to the youth, Jabu has crafted a portrait of South Africa’s Gen Zs that feels unique, personal and genuine. Showcasing a stunning range of sexuality and sexual exploration, the campaign #ForeverWena is a celebration of sexual diversity with zero judgement or shame, AMEN!
Established in 2003 LittleBig is a full-service video production and activation company that, we think, has been flying under people’s radar for far too long. It had us baffled that these guys were bringing home top international awards for South Africa over the past few years (hello Gold Cannes Lions) yet we weren’t seeing their name in the headlines. So, we made a point to get to know the team and find out more about what they do behind the scenes to get onto the main stage at Cannes.
The Creative Circle Annual Awards might be done but the taste of the win is still fresh in the air at Howard Audio, and for good reason. The team were the audio force behind 4 awards, including winning FIRST in the Integrated Campaign category, FIRST in the Radio and Audio campaign category, First in the Mza'taal category and SECOND in the Digital category. Massive congrats to Adam Howard and his team – always pushing the standards of audio in South Africa!
Proving that their creativity isn’t restricted to the ad world, the team at Cake decided to celebrate three years of commercial-making magic with a set of personalised tarot cards. YES PLEASE! Each card represents work Cake has pulled off in it’s third year and tells a little story about the concept while linking to the video, genius, you don’t even have to be psychic to enjoy them.
Spitfire has welcomed director Paul Ramaema to its roster, solidifying the production company’s reputation for fostering young gifted talent. Paul’s work ranges from car commercials to music videos and comedy performance spots; a great fit for a production company that embraces multi-talented directors.
Christopher Lee’s direction of the latest Lexus commercial is reflective of a director who is considered, detail-oriented and deeply in love with cars. In reality, Chris is a race car driver who happens to be a director at the same time, and he’s probably the fastest director on four wheels.
Egg Films is thrilled to welcome Lisa Wides (formerly Lisa Jaffee) as their new Head of Communication. She’s no newcomer to the advertising world, bringing over 17 years of experience as an agency TV Producer, most recently serving as the Head of Broadcast at Ogilvy before taking a break to raise kids. Lisa will be a dedicated resource and point of contact for agencies, working closely with agency producers and creatives, serving as the go-to person, and providing agencies with an invaluable resource throughout campaigns.
Chocolate Tribe, the high-end visual effects, animation, and IP development studio, has once again made us say, ‘Wait, is that not real?!’ The game of creature creation on the continent has been taken to another level with their latest animated hyena character named Jonga, a photoreal masterpiece crafted for the Netflix film ‘iNumber Number 2: Jozi Gold.’ This project marks the first CGI-created creature to come from South Africa in a Netflix feature but more importantly, this work proves that even our smaller studios from South Africa can rival the best in the world. Go Tribe!
It was while shooting one of the first commercials to be filmed in South Africa during lockdown, that Executive Producer Gaye Leong officially launched Together Films. The foundation of the company was laid and the mission statement clear – Together we can do anything, no matter the times. Now, four years and a growing roster of talent later Gaye shares some of the top industry trends her production company has encountered, adapted to and rolled with, Together.
Carbon Films has announced that multitalented director Christian Mangachena has joined their roster. Christian brings a distinctive visual style to advertising that feels unfamiliar, raw and real. As a director with a background in cinematography and editing, Christian uses camera angles, locations, textures and colour palettes to take a deep dive into culture that feels unconventional and refreshing. Christian brings something that we don’t think we’ve seen before and with the production chops of Carbon, we can’t wait to see more.
The Loeries released their rankings for 2023 and congratulations to ROMANCE for being ranked the number one production company in South Africa. BOOM. What better way to celebrate than to go fly-on-the-wall as three ROMANCE directors, Nicole Ackerman, Jabu Newman and Emilie Badenhorst interview each other. They get candid about their process, background, influences and the women who helped them along their way.
Robin is one of those true filmmakers with incredible visual artistry chops. He’s blessed with the double superpower of being able to create evocative imagery while crafting powerful performances. With multiple Cannes Lion awards, a Loerie Grand Prix, over 15 years of commercial directing experience and two feature films under his belt, Robin adds his experience to the already established roster at They.
What might have been a bleak Christmas for small-town Stanford has transformed into one of the most memorable festive seasons the town’s tourism has ever seen. Agency 99c, production company 7 Films and Checkers wanted to honour this community that stood together during the town’s recent floods by lighting up the main street with a Santa-approved lights display. Bringing a little bit of ‘xtra joy’ back to a community that nearly lost everything ended up having a lasting impact felt throughout the area.
