South Africa came out punching at The One Show Awards 2026, with local agencies, production companies, creatives, marketers, and brands picking up Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Merit recognition across a wide spread of categories. Go team SA! Congratulations to all the South African Pencil and Merit winners. Here’s the work that brought it home.
Best in Craft goes to Greg Gray (Direction) from Romance and Ricky Boyd from Deliverance Post this month. Big cheers, loud applause, and general (Raj) whoohoo-ing all round. This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by two people who know a thing or two about making excellent work; Martin Schlumpf, Executive Creative Director at Joe Public and Chloe Coetsee, Director at Darling Films.
Every month, South Africa’s top creative and production talent help us crown the best in local craft. Now, after a full year of judging, the numbers are in and the official IDIDTHAT Craft Awards Rankings for 2025 are here. From directors and DOPs to editors, sound studios and VFX artists, this is the leaderboard of the teams consistently producing the industry’s most awarded and admired work. Now you know who to work with next!
South Africa is showing up strong at the The One Show, leading the Middle East and Africa region with 48 finalists. From agencies to production and post, the work is cutting through for Team SA, and with every finalist guaranteed a Pencil or Merit, it’s already a big win.
A clean sweep for the Colonel. This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards saw KFC take both top honours, with judges Catherine Wanliss, Creative Director at Accenture Song, and Kyle Lewis, Director at Egg Films, recognising top Craft from Zee Ntuli from Darling Films and Grant de Sousa of They Films.
And Slim takes it! This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by Juliet Honey, Creative Director at TBWA\ South Africa, and Zee Ntuli, Director at Darling Films. Thank you for lending us your smarts, you beauties. Big congrats to Slim from Darling Films for taking the top spot this month....and for getting us to order burgers.
Another month, another round of work that made our judges sit up a little straighter. For the November IDIDTHAT Craft Awards, we handed the reins to two heavyweights: Suhana Gordhan, Chief Creative Officer at LoveSong, and multiple-time Best in Craft winner Hayden Brown, director and cinematographer at 7 Films. After sifting through the country’s sharpest craft, they crowned this month’s Best in Craft: Thina Zibi from Triple Story Content and Zee Ntuli from Darling Films. Congrats on the top spot, you two, beautifully done.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards saw creative firecrackers Saf Sindhi, Founder & CCO at Bananas South Africa and Slim, Director at Darling Films, on judging duty. A standing ovation for directors Hayden Brown from 7 Films and Katlego Baaitse from Spitfire Films, both came in swinging and walked off with the month’s highest honours.
Budgets are shrinking. Deadlines are gasping for air. And AI? It’s not knocking on production’s door, it’s already moved in, rearranged the furniture, and started editing the showreel. At this year’s IDIDTHAT HOUSE (Loeries Fringe), inside the Nedbank Loft, we hosted Future Proof: a brutally honest panel asking the question everyone in production is quietly panicking about. What will it take for a South African production company to still exist, and thrive, in 2027?
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by two of our industry's royalty, Danni Pinch, ECD at Accenture Song and independent Director, Thina Zibi. Congrats to the top dogs this month, Bruno Bossi from Carbon Films and Zee Ntuli from Darling Films, drinks on you at the Loeries!
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by two powerhouses who would walk through fire and still come out the other side with a cold beer in their hands, Thandeka Gilbert, Creative Director at McCann Joburg and Cindy Lee, (OSCAR-nominated) Director at The Star Film Company. Congratulations to Hayden Brown from 7 Films, Chloe Coetsee from Darling Films, and editor Warwick Allan from Mushroom Media. May the power of the craft be forever in your favour.
Yes, we know Cannes is over… but we’re not quite done talking about it. Here’s your full roundup of the week: the complete winners table, the work, and the companies that brought it home. You’ve inspired us all and reminded the world (and ourselves) what South Africans are capable of.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were in excellent hands, judged by two of the industry’s finest: Sbu Sitole, Chief Creative Officer at The Odd Number, and director Zwelethu Radebe from Egg Films. A massive congratulations to this month’s top crafters, directors Sanaa Mothabisa from Sanaa Films and Zee Ntuli from Darling Films, for work that the judges thought stood out. Nice one gents!
South Africa’s creative scene made a strong showing at this year’s One Show, bringing home two Bronze Pencils, three Silver, and 13 Merits. Congrats to the teams at Joe Public, TBWA\Hunt Lascaris, Carbon Films, Darling Films, Dash Digital, Post Modern, Sterling Sound, and newly launched agency Bananas! Here you can view all the awarded work and the brilliant talent behind it.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were in the expert hands of Melusi Tshabalala, Executive Creative Director at VML and Karien Cherry, Director at Giant Films. A big shoutout to Chloe Coetsee from Darling Films for taking home the top spot this month. Congrats, Chloe!
Focusing on honing her craft by directing big-scale Netflix productions across genres over the past two years, Darling Films’ Director Kit is now bringing all that experience back to commercial sets full-time. We’ve pulled together a few standout scenes that show just how much range and muscle she’s built. Welcome back to Ad Land, Kit, we missed you!
Chicken wins again! This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by Chantelle Dos Santos, Creative Director at Joe Public and Gale Maimane, Director at Darling Films. Congrats to Zee Ntuli from Darling Films and Evi Katz from Left Post Productions for taking home the top spot this month for their KFC ad.
As Nedbank’s Group Executive for Marketing & Corporate Affairs, Khensani Nobanda is a firm believer in the power of well-crafted creativity. She backs ideas that are not only socially impactful but beautifully executed, like Nedbank Youth X The Class of ‘76, which won Best in Craft for Direction in IDIDTHAT’s Craft Awards last year. Here’s 5-minutes with Khensani Nobanda.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by Verona Meyer, ECD at M&C Saatchi Abel and Mzonke Maloney, Director at Carbon Films. Congrats Directors, Thina Zibi and Thea Small, as well as DOP Josh Levi for your Best in Craft wins this month!
Welcome to the first in a series of showcases celebrating the very best South African work in 2024. Our first showcase is the Best of Film & Film Craft awarded by the Loeries. Here we spotlight the best local talent making moving pictures. Save their names!