CANNES DAILY DIARY: Day 1 with Jabulani Sigege

For day one of our South Africans in Cannes Diary, Machine_ Group ECD and Cannes Lions Audio & Radio juror Jabulani Sigege gives us more than a single day and we’re not complaining. He takes us through his first few days in Cannes, from arriving on the Croisette and settling into jury life to the responsibility of helping award the world’s best work.

Meet South Africa’s Cannes Lions Jury 2026

Being invited to judge at Cannes Lions is one of the highest honours in our industry. This year, 31 South Africans help shape the festival's most important conversations, serving on both shortlisting and awarding juries across categories ranging from Titanium and Glass to Film to Media, Design, PR and a Jury President in-between. Meet the marketers, strategists, filmmakers, designers and creative leaders representing South Africa on the global stage. Thank you legends for making us proud.

Jury Duty, changing how South Africa shows up in Cannes

Last week, South Africa’s Cannes Lions jurors made a little history. For the first time, current jurors came together with former jurors and Jury Presidents for Jury Duty, a new IDIDTHAT.co and Nedbank initiative designed to share knowledge and hard-earned lessons before they step into the world’s most influential judging rooms.

Craft Award Results: May 2026

This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by Jabulani Sigege, Group Executive Creative Director at Machine_ and Jessie Zinn, Director at Bioscope Films. Thank you kindly legends for your time and expertise on this. And wow, there was a lot of work. We love seeing the industry producing at this volume. Let’s keep going! Massive congratulations Zee Ntuli from Darling Films on taking home Best in Craft for your work on KFC.