“It’s a bittersweet decision leaving the industry, but I am happy to go on a positive note,” Cal says gently. “At a time when there are many enthusiastic people around me to take over the Priest’s heritage.”

Those enthusiastic people are Michelle and Cris Duvenhage, alongside a tight, highly skilled team that has been central to Priest’s output for years. If you’ve worked with Priest, you already know Michelle. Since joining in 2010, she has been the driving force behind the studio’s expansion into full post production, VFX and long-form work, with a deep understanding of both craft and workflow, while her husband Cris brings his own formidable reputation as a DIT and on-set technical specialist, having worked on some of South Africa’s biggest local and international feature productions.

Across the team, editor and motion graphics artist Amelia Cohen brings a sharp eye for performance and design, colourist Skye Barrow shapes the final look with a distinctive visual sensitivity, and VFX artists Hilton Henstock and Gabriel Hair round out the offering with strong compositing and 3D capabilities. “Each job should be built around the work itself,” explains Michelle. “With a strong pool of freelance talent, we’ve always been able to match the right skills to each project.” That flexibility allows the studio to scale up when projects demand it, bringing in specialist artists while keeping the operation lean and collaborative. Together, they represent a studio that may be boutique in size but broad in craft, with the ability to handle everything from editorial through to complex visual effects on large scale projects.

TOPS ‘Choose Your Epic’
Editor Amelia Cohen

Spotify ‘On The Beat’
Editor Amelia Cohen

Allan Gray ‘Everything Goes Around’
Editor Matthew Swanepoel

‘Boetie Boer’ Trailer

‘A Kind Of Madness’ Trailer

Under Michelle and Cris, Priest’s next evolution focuses on two key factors.

Firstly, bringing Set closer to Post. Cris has built a strong reputation working on set, managing camera data, dailies workflows and technical pipelines across both feature films and commercials. By integrating those services with Priest’s post-production capabilities, the studio can now offer a more connected workflow from shoot through to finish.

“The idea is to bridge the gap between production and post,” Michelle says. “If those conversations happen earlier, you can flag problems sooner, manage visual effects better, and ultimately save both time and budget.”

It also means directors and DOPs can access colour, visual effects and editorial insight much earlier in the process, helping productions avoid the familiar “we’ll fix it in post” moment before it becomes a problem.

In addition, the studio is embracing the thoughtful integration of AI into its evolving workflow. Rather than replacing the craft and intuition that have always defined great post production, AI is being explored as a powerful creative and technical ally – streamlining repetitive processes, enhancing efficiency, and opening up new possibilities in visual development. Michelle says, “The goal is not to abandon traditional post-production disciplines, but rather to bring them into closer dialogue and creating a balanced workflow where human taste, storytelling and technical expertise remain our focus. Priest is positioning itself to deliver work that is not only polished and future-facing, but treated with the same care, collaboration and creative integrity which the studio is known for”.

Priest and their Abbey

Priest operates from its Salt River studio in Cape Town, working across commercials, documentaries and feature films. A welcoming space offering great coffee, where collaboration comes naturally and the workflow runs smoothly.

Priest Post Production, 14 Pickwick Road, Salt River, Cape Town

As Priest moves into its next phase, the focus remains the same: thoughtful craft, strong collaboration and a studio that continues to evolve with the work.

Wanna (s)talk some more? Priest’s IDIDTHAT profile and company website.