Thirteen years is a long time in advertising. It’s even longer in production. Which is why Spitfire’s teenage birthday lands with real weight: a fresh reel, a wall of awards, a new generation of women coming up through the ranks, and some of its strongest creative years to date.
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.
Spitfire’s newest signing is no stranger to the craft, with a decade of experience, Director Ying-Poi joins the production house with momentum. And if you ask EP Liesl Lategan Kyriakou, this one was written in the stars.
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!
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by Sibs Zihle, Creative Director at Ogilvy South Africa, and Monde Gumede, Director at SHIBOBO! A massive shoutout to director Jessie Zinn from Bioscope Films and freelance director Royd Ringdahl for taking home Best of Craft.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards brought together two powerhouse judges: Neema Nouse, Integrated Creative Director at The Odd Number, and Dani Hynes, Director and Founder of Love Films. And they both agreed – Best of Craft this month goes to Karien Cherry from Giant Films.
And this for the spitfire intro: With over 24 years of directing 360+ commercials across 32 countries, Spitfire’s Co-Founder AK is one of South Africa’s most experienced directors. Beyond the awards and on-set adventures, his journey is also about family, personal growth, and a deep love of film.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by perfectly equal parts demure and brat, Nkgabiseng Motau, Chief Creative Officer at Think Creative Africa and Ernest Nkosi, Director at Mogul Pictures. Congrats to Justice Mukheli from Romance for taking home the top spot this month. Well done mister!
Spitfire has welcomed director Paul Ramaema to its roster, solidifying the production company’s reputation for fostering young gifted talent. Paul’s work ranges from car commercials to music videos and comedy performance spots; a great fit for a production company that embraces multi-talented directors.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by the spreaders of amazingness; Neo Mashigo, Chief Creative Officer at M&C Saatchi Group South Africa & James Matthes, Creative Executive Officer at Pressure Cooker. Congratulations to November’s top crafters, Zee Ntuli from Darling Films and 7 Films‘ Gorgeous Bushman.
Chances are, the name Katlego Baaitse has been ringing in your ears more frequently, and there’s good reason for it. Currently, everything he touches is catching the attention of the top judging talent, who all seem to be playing a game of ‘Katlego Bingo’ because they all agree; that he is a formidable performance and comedy director. With an insatiable appetite for big-scale world-building Katlego is consistently surprising us with work that is as excellent as it is eccentric.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by the distinguished Brendan Hoffmann, ECD at Joe Public Cape Town and the esteemed Ian Gabriel, Director at Giant Films Thank you sirs! Congratulations to Production Designer (or if you prefer, Art Director) Louise Knepscheld on her work for Kruger and Slim from Darling Films for his MTN spots. Well done you crafty beauties!
June’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by two creative powerhouses armed with their impeccable artistic palates; Camilla Clerke, Executive Creative Director at Ogilvy South Africa & Thina Zibi, Independent Director. Thank you for lending us your fiery brilliance. Congratulations to Slim from Darling Films for being awarded Best in Craft by both judges - BOOM.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by red-carpet-worthy talents of Julie Thorogood, Creative Director at NetworkBBDO and Mark Middlewick, Director at First Pencil. Congratulations to Director Imraan Christian from Arcade and Strangelove Editor Shelby Ncube who were awarded Best in Craft this month by both judges.
Director Malehlohonolo Ntsooa, better known around Spitfire as Hloni, has very quickly, with the power production support of Spitfire and Executive Producer Liesl Lategan, built an impressive showreel featuring sports, food, music, comedy, finance and visual effects-heavy spots. We found out how this young determined talent rose up in the ranks of a top production company.
Let’s face it, team Spitfire has never quite fit into the traditional production company box. Over the past 10 years they have always approached work with the same attitude of ‘Where there’s a screen, there’s an opportunity’. But hey, a production company that has an in-house Head of Content is a production company that just thinks differently.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by the very top of our Xmas wishlist; Grant Sithole, Chief Product Officer of Publicis Groupe Africa and Nicole Ackermann, Director at Romance. This was a particularly tough month to judge with a lot of stand-out work, but rising to the top is Paul Ward from Giant Films and Tristan Holmes from The Star Film Company.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by the superbly talented all-seeing all-knowing oracles that are Jacquie Mullany, Creative Director at HelloFCB+ and Grant De Sousa, Director at They. Congratulations to Slim from Darling Films for his skillfully crafty work on Chicken Licken *clapping wildly.
This month’s IDIDTHAT.co Craft Awards were judged by Executive Creative Director at FCB Tian van den Heever and Animation & VFX Supervisor and Head of Production at Chocolate Tribe, Rob van den Bragt. Congratulations to the man, the myth, the legend himself, Greg Gray on nabbing this month's Best in Craft.
SHE DID THAT is a female filmmakers showcase that shines a spotlight on the women in the South African production industry. Although we will only be featuring women and non-binary people, the goal is that it will encourage the inclusion of more underrepresented filmmakers across all production work created by South Africans. This month features Alexa Wilson from Arcade, Ceara McEvoy from Video Cartel and Hloni Ntsooa from Spitfire Films.