When Executive Producer Jackie Nel and Director Oscar Strauss first launched Hungry, Jackie was, in true Producer style, meticulous about every detail. From the get-go she was eager to make Hungry a success story and even had the Hungry Films name verified at a centre for Nameology (yes, it’s a thing). The Nameologist (we actually don’t know if that is a thing) assured her that Hungry would shower them with an abundance of money. Music to a Producer’s ears. Work came in fast and furiously and Jackie approached long time friend and colleague, Executive Producer Gaye Leong, to join the team and step in as co-owner alongside their Production Manager and partner Vuyo Depha. This move also made Hungry one of the very few 100% female owned production companies in South Africa. Jackie and Gaye, with their extensive experience in the world of production and advertising, began handpicking the Directors that would make up their dream family unit. Hungry is now home to 6 Directors (hang onto your data because we’re about to introduce you to them), Producer extraordinaire Cherice Whewell, Production Support Musa Ntshangase and in-house Producer Neil Hindle.

One thing that all the Directors at Hungry share is their insatiable appetite for commercials work. They’re all extremely passionate about the industry and apart from meeting every single morning to share a cup of coffee (except for Director Kofi Zwana, who ironically prefers orange juice) downstairs from the office, they wouldn’t choose to be anywhere else than on set.

iDidTht: ‘How did you choose your team?’

Gaye: ‘For us it boils down to relationships. Everyone in our team contributes to this collaborative creative synergy that we’re passionate about at Hungry. That synergy makes for better work’.
Jackie: ‘Exactly. Also, Gaye and I don’t have children of our own, so for us our Directors are our family and we’ve been lucky enough to choose them very carefully. They all have unique energies and skills, but all share a love of storytelling and are fiercely intelligent.’
Gaye: ‘Jackie has really made sure that we are a strong core team who really just want to work and have a fabulous time while doing it.’

The two matriarchs literally spoke about their 5 Hungry lions for hours and like real mothers we feared that they might even whip out some baby pictures. Instead, we got a great breakdown of each Director with some kickass work to show off. We also asked Jackie and Gaye, seeing as they are the head of the Hungry household and in charge of budgets, to guess what all their Directors would order as their last meal. Let’s see how they match up with the real answers…