Look at who joined 7 Films – Filmmaker and Photographer Ndumiso Sibanda
Director Ndumiso Sibanda is a multidisciplinary storyteller in the pursuit of telling African stories and promoting African identity by embracing the essence of Ubuntu. A Zimbabwean-born South African with an unwavering love of the continent, Ndumiso’s work captures magic in everyday life while challenging cultural stereotypes and xenophobia. We caught up with this humble adventurer about his latest move to join 7 Films and his intuition to create from the heart.
Having started his career in television in South Africa, directing shows like Expresso, Ses’Khona and Top Billing, Ndumiso eventually made the move into commercials directing where he earned the opportunity of a lifetime; spending A WHOLE YEAR documenting the journey of a single rugby ball being passed from hand to hand through 45 countries, starting in Cape Town and ending in London – the location of the Rugby World Cup 2015. A beautiful simple idea for DHL, but a monumental task to complete! Ndumiso and his small team got in the car (yes they travelled by CAR) on the 4th of October 2014 and arrived in London on the 21st of September 2015 – that’s a lot of petrol! Check out the DHL #AfricaAsOne finale video…
Stills shot en route for ‘DHL Africa as One’ campaign by Ndumiso Sibanda
Ndumiso’s passion for uncovering the story and capturing the pride, love, laughter and humanity of Africa and it’s people made this a dream gig, he expands: ‘What I enjoyed about this project is the opportunity to pick my story quickly, follow the story, and pivot if needs be, and the excitement of knowing we had to deliver the story no matter what.’ Being a director and a photographer, saw Ndumiso covering this project through both lenses, in fact you’ll notice that Ndumiso’s film work is shot with a photographers eye – beautifully framed.
Men wrestling on the beach in Senegal – photographed by Ndumiso Sibanda
Ndumiso Shot That
Always looking for adventure, Ndumiso has done everything from being the official filmmaker to the Proteas for an entire year to directing TV commercials, short films, documentaries and web-based content – with over 45 million online view and counting nogal! Here are a few of IDIDTHAT’s favourites from the Ndumiso reel.
Ephasini Lamabhudango – My Dream World
Ndumiso Sibanda – The spirit of my work
Ndumiso on Ephasini Lamabhudango or “My envisioned dream world”: ‘I wrote and directed this short film alongside well-known South African Actress Tsholofelo Maseko. Our aim was to disrupt and interrogate the thinking that some black Africans have about their western identity and the disregard for their own cultures in modern-day Johannesburg.’
IDIDTHAT: Why 7 Films?
Ndumiso: I remember being so incredibly moved by this Gillette ad that the late Director SJ from 7 Films had directed. I did some research about 7 Films and fell in love with their culture of simple storytelling. At 7 Films they create intuitively from the heart, something I have wanted to pursue my whole life. I couldn’t resist that marriage of intuition and then craft at the highest level.
We hit up 7 Films Founder and Director, Lourens van Rensburg, to ask him the same question.
IDIDTHAT: Why do you think Ndumiso is a good fit for 7 Films?
Lourens: Ndumiso is a multi-disciplined filmmaker which is incredibly important for us. But what is most important, is the person he is. At 7 Films, first and foremost, we are about family. We met with Ndumiso several times over many months and we also spent time together on set. They say you really get to know someone when you work with them, you live with them or you have slow internet together. Ndumiso proved himself to be an incredibly talented storyteller, but also someone that can be a part of our 7 Films family.
You gotta love it when the planets align because we could not think of a better fit than Ndumiso and 7 Films #PowerCouple. Ndumiso’s love for Africa is inspiring and his humble gentle nature is a joy to be around. Driven to create with love and from the heart, we can’t wait to see more of Ndumiso’s African magic.
Contact 7 Films:
Nina van Rensburg | Executive Producer
nina@7films.co.za
Saskia Finlayson Gupffert | Executive Producer
saskia@7films.co.za
Produced by the iDidTht Content Studio – Credits: Anne Hirsch (Writer) / Julie Maunder
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