Castle Milk Stout ‘This is African Time’

I DID THAT CRAFT AWARDS
Judge’s Pick

IDIDTHAT JUDGE
Kate De Bruyn

AWARDED
11 August 2026

JUDGES COMMENT ON DIRECTION 
“In an industry where we are constantly told the first three seconds are the most important, this piece of work does exactly that. It demonstrates the power of what great craft is all about – making the viewer invested in the story from the very first frame so they choose to go on the journey with you. I love the use of light in this piece to bring the story to life. The way it interplays with the characters, creating a world for them to belong in and set’s them outside of time itself.
The pacing in this piece is also beautiful. The way it uses the power of still photography to create movement and energy, but the moving footage brings in the calm and the still. From this alone you can tell that every moment was thought through and considered. The craft takes the film away from being just anther brand manifesto piece with a clever metaphor, to being a work of art that makes you feel something.”

– Kate De Bruyn, Creative Director at Studio One, Publicis Groupe

I DID THAT CRAFT AWARDS
Judge’s Pick

IDIDTHAT JUDGE
Greg Gray

AWARDED
11 August 2026

JUDGES COMMENT ON DIRECTION 
“For me, Castle Milk Stout’s ‘This is African Time’ is the standout commercial this month because every creative decision serves a single, beautifully expressed idea. It takes a phrase that’s often used negatively and turns it into something generous and human. Rather than being about lateness, it becomes about slowing down, being present, and making time for the people and moments that matter. It’s such a simple shift in perspective, but it creates enormous creative opportunity, and the film captures that brilliantly.

What really elevates the film, though, is the originality of the execution. Rather than relying on familiar cinematic devices, it finds a completely fresh visual language to express the passing of time. The movement of light, still photography, subtle motion blur and stop-frame imagery all work together to create something that sits somewhere between photography and cinema. You don’t simply watch time passing, you actually feel it. None of these techniques ever feel decorative or gimmicky; every choice deepens the central idea.

A huge amount of credit has to go to Zee Ntuli for holding that vision together. It’s an incredibly disciplined piece of direction. The performances are beautifully measured, never overstated, just quiet, truthful moments that trust the audience and allow the emotion to land naturally. The pacing reflects the very idea the film is celebrating, taking time rather than rushing through it, and every department feels like it’s pulling towards exactly the same outcome.

I also think Ross Garrett’s contribution as the stills photographer deserves special mention. The photography isn’t simply supporting the moving image; it’s fundamental to the storytelling. The stills are not only beautiful in their own right, but they’re also integrated so intelligently into the film. Through long exposures, creating subtle movement, and stop-frame editing, the photographs begin to breathe, creating this wonderful sense of time suspended and time passing simultaneously. It’s an incredibly sophisticated piece of visual storytelling.

Finally, what impressed me most is how unified the craft feels. Direction, cinematography, photography, editing, sound and music all work together seamlessly. As a director, I know how difficult it is to get every discipline aligned behind a single idea, and this film achieves it with an effortless confidence that’s incredibly rare.

For those reasons, it’s my choice for Best in Category this month. It’s emotionally resonant, technically exceptional, and a wonderful example of how outstanding craft can genuinely elevate a great idea.”

– Greg Gray, Director at Romance Films

View I DID THAT Craft Awards July 2026 showcase

For Castle Milk Stout’s latest campaign for SAB/AB InBev, created by Joe Public, the challenge wasn’t simply to make a memorable commercial. It was to reclaim one of Africa’s most misunderstood phrases.
Rather than treating “African Time” as a joke about lateness, the film asks a different question. What if we’ve misunderstood it all along? What if it’s less about the clock, and more about presence, connection and the moments we choose not to rush through?
For Darling Films ZA director Zee Ntuli, the idea demanded a filmmaking process that reflected that same philosophy.

“We knew very early on that we didn’t want to make a conventional film,” says Ntuli. “Time is invisible. We needed to find a way to capture something you can’t actually see.”

That search led to an unusual and highly collaborative process.
Ntuli invited fellow Darling Films SA director and acclaimed photographer Ross Garrett into the creative process from the very beginning. Together they developed a visual language where still photography wasn’t simply supporting the film, it became one of its central storytelling devices. One of the earliest ideas was to use light itself as a measure of time. Throughout the film, moving shafts of sunlight slowly travel across faces, architecture and empty spaces. Rather than using clocks to tell us time is passing, the light quietly does the work, becoming a recurring visual reminder that time is always moving, whether we notice it or not. Over 300 stills were shot for this film.

Across the production they experimented with long exposures, several different film formats, motion blur and a variety of in camera techniques that allowed single frames to feel strangely alive. The photographs weren’t designed to interrupt the moving image. They became part of its emotional rhythm, quietly blurring the line between stillness and motion.

That same philosophy extended into the edit.
Instead of waiting for production to wrap, editor Will Kalmer was brought into the process while filming was still underway. Scenes were assembled as they were being shot, allowing the edit to actively shape what happened next. The evolving cut informed pacing, transitions and even the imagery that was still to be captured, turning post production into an extension of production itself.

Music was approached in exactly the same way.
Composer and sound designer Chris Snyman joined the conversation long before the picture was locked, developing ideas alongside the edit rather than responding to a finished film. The score evolved with the images, finding its own rhythm as the film slowly found its shape. Rather than sitting underneath the visuals, it became another way of expressing the passage of time.

For Ntuli, that openness became the project’s defining characteristic.
“Everyone came in early enough to genuinely influence the work. Ross wasn’t documenting the film. Will wasn’t simply cutting it. Chris wasn’t adding music afterwards. We were all working together to discover what the film wanted to be.”

The result is a piece where every discipline pulls in the same direction. Photography, editing and sound work together so seamlessly that the craft almost disappears, leaving behind a quiet invitation to slow down and reconsider what we mean when we talk about African Time.

Chief Creative officer at Joe Public Xolisa Dyshana says about the process: “Zee didn’t just understand the idea, he understood the truth at its heart. He elevated our vision in ways we hadn’t imagined. Building the film from more than 300 still photographs wasn’t just a technical achievement, it was a creative choice that made the idea even more powerful.”

Client/Brand: Castle Milk Stout
Vice President Marketing: Vaughan Croeser
Marketing Manager: Hetisani Makhubela
Brand Director: Thomas Lawrence
Brand Assistant: Noluthando Mchunu
Dynamx Trainee: Oreneile Toka

Agency: Joe Public
Group Chief Creative Officer: Pepe Marais
Chief Creative Officer: Xolisa Dyeshana
Executive Creative Director: Martin Schlumpf
Agency Art Director: Janneke van Zyl
Senior Copywriter: Vuyani Plata
Senior Integrated Producer: Di Cole
Senior Account Manager: Duke Makina
Business Unit Director: Nina Fredericksz

Film Production & Crew
Film Production Company: Darling Films
Director: Zee Ntuli
Stills Director: Ross Garrett
Executive Producers: Melina McDonald & Lorraine Smit
Producer: Thandeka Mahuma
Cinematographer / DOP: Julian Robinet
Director’s Assistant: Siya Xaba
Additional Footage: Siya Xaba
Production Manager: Vasilea Ackermann
Production Coordinator: Tebogo Mhlauli
Production Art Director: Amber Geldenhuys
Wardrobe Stylist: Neo Serati
1st Assistant Director: Travis Nel
1st AC: JC Turvey
Key Grips: Riaan Hanekom
Gaffer/Lighting: Dave Howe
Sound Operator: Lebogang Nkoana

Post Production:
Editing Company: Post Modern
Offline Editor: William Kalmer
Grader/Colourist: Terry Simpson
Post Production Facility (Online): (Not an IDIDTHAT member)
Recording Studio: (Not an IDIDTHAT member)

Cast:
Thabo Bopape
Edward Nkhumishe

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