Industry Programme

I am an Intermediary in the Creative Industry. Project Manager in Skills Training and Audience development at the Gauteng film Commission for over 16 years. Accomplished studies in Corporate Governance and risk management, Diploma in Project management, Advanced Diploma in Business administration, Post Graduate diploma in Business Administration and
Master’s degree in business administration, Film Distribution. Currently studying second Master’s in fine arts at AFDA. A member of Institute of Directors South Africa (IoDSA) a body that influence, develop, and advance corporate governance and directorship by pursuing ethical and effective leadership in South Africa.

As a seasoned private and public sector professional, Onke Dumeko is a multipotentialite Corporate Affairs executive, Operations executive and Keynote Speaker. As with extensive work experience spanning across diverse yet complimentary disciplines and industries such as fmcg, commercial and luxury retail, media, publishing, content (film & tv) production and the public sector. This has culminated in a diverse skills-set which is pitched to provide unmatched organisational value.

Khayelihle Sibiya

• Qualified Chartered Accountant and a member of SAICA
• Honours Degree (Accountancy) from UJ
• Holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from WITS Business School
• 17 years in Development Finance
• Investment Principal at NEF (uMnotho Fund)

Kagisho Bapela is a Chartered Accountant with solid experience in business and finance. Kagisho is a Senior Deal Maker at the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, and his responsibilities include crafting strategy for film and television finance, sourcing transactions for consideration by the Corporation, and conducting due diligence reviews on potential projects.

Mayenzeke Baza left a successful career in engineering and property management to produce, and more recently distribute and finance, local and international films for the past 15 years. He co-founded AAA Entertainment in 2014 and is the current CEO and Head of Distribution and Financing. Mayenzeke serves as an advisor to several organisations, key decision makers and stakeholders, and served on the boards of the DFA, ATFT (co-founded), IBFC and SASFED

Melanie N. Clark is a creative entrepreneur, who has worked at the intersection of art and commerce for over 20 years.
Her work as an entrepreneur includes fashion design, concert and event production, tour management (for musicians), brand and business development for small companies, and project management.

Melanie is most well known for the successful clothing line, Melanie Nicole, that she ran for 14 years. The MelanieNicole collection began in 2002 in Chicago, with a local clientele and design studio and quickly expanded to an international clientele and two showrooms in Chicago, dressing most notably, celebrities Oprah Winfrey and Jennifer Hudson.

Although this Hollywood veteran offers over three decades of commitment to the arts with over fifty film credits and more than a dozen lead roles in network/cable television series, he considers himself a community and youth advocate first.

Born in the South Bronx and raised in Harlem, it was his debut in the Disney classic Cool Runnings and his performance as NYPD Detective J.C. Williams in the groundbreaking police drama, New York Undercover, that catapulted Malik into the
fabric of American culture.

A serial entrepreneur, the emerging real estate developer has projects in NYC and Baltimore and is currently in post- production for his educational docu-series, The Real Estate Mixtape, Volume 1: I Build NY. The series follows Malik and a cohort of youth as he navigates is first commercial real estate deal in NYC. In 2022, Malik received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Livingstone University and has been offered the role of Honorary Chair of the School of Construction
at Pratt University.

Penny  has become a multi-levelled media practitioner, with over 20 years’ experience in both Radio and Television. Her career started at community radio station – The Voice of Soweto. Penny hosted ETV’s Sunrise, and Women’s Talk Show called Motswako on SABC2 for 5 seasons amongst other things.

Career highlight was an exclusive interview on international news network; Aljazeera about the impact Oprah Winfrey had on African Women and their Development. The network identified Lebyane as a Voice for African Women.

Jacintha de Nobrega is one of South Africa’s leading female producers and an alumnus of the Los Angeles Film School. de Nobrega founded Arclight Productions, a film and television production company based in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal. Her debut film went on to win the coveted Best Film and Best Director awards (The Simon Mabhunu Sabela Award) in July 2019.  She produced the SAFTA-nominated Durban Beach Rescue 2 for The Travel Channel and her recent feature Lottery Love a romantic comedy set in KwaMashu, KwaZulu Natal is set for release in 2024. De Nobrega’s latest international co-production feature documentary London Recruits will be the opening film for the Joburg Film Festival 2024.

I have been working in Film, opera, theatre, projection design & Video art installation for more than 30 years. I love the collaboration with other film makers when I edit their films and love the process of telling stories as director/editor. I have worked with artists, William Kentridge, Gerhard Marx, Handspring Puppet Company, Willem Boshoff, Georgia Papageorge, Leora Farber, including exhibitions at MOMA New York and San Francisco, The Standard Bank Gallery, The Goodman Gallery, The Tate Modern in London amongst many others.

Specialties: Editor of Feature films, TV series, Documentary, Projection designer for opera, theatre and art installations.
I have worked with The Bomb Shelter, Love life, Quizzical/Curious pictures, Luna films, On Land productions, Cinga productions, Fireworx media, Little Bird productions. I have worked as a director of documentary – with Breathe Films, Pulp films, Goodman Gallery, Panorama Films, Clive Morris productions.

Multi projection design and compositing – Worked on multi-media operas: ‘The Head & The Load,’ ‘Wozzeck’, ‘Lulu’, “The Magic Flute”, “The Nose”, “Ulisse”, “Zeno at 4am”, Theatre: ‘Ubu and the Truth Commission’, (Market theatre, Metropolitan opera New York, La Scala in Milan, Aix en Provence festival, BAM, amongst many others). I have also been brought in as guest lecturer at Yale, UJ, AFDA, Big Fish, Newton Film School, UCT and Wits.

Clementine Mosimane is a renowned actress and TV personality from who was born and raised in Soweto, South Africa. She has graced the TV screens for over twenty years and has featured in over 50 films. She is credited to have kicked off her
acting career in 1991 and has gone non-stop since then.

She is known to be one of the first black South African female actors. While she was busy and being featured as an actress in many films and television shows. Mosimane has done some work behind the scenes as a director and producer. She is known for portraying Thandi Mazwai in the popular drama series “Soul City”. The show ran from 1994 – 2003. Her perfect portrayal of the character gained praise from the viewers. She also earned much praise for playing Mama Rose Tladi in “The Wild”, Ruth Gumede in “Gold Diggers” and more.

Connie Chiume is an award winning South African actress. She has been in the industry for over forty-five (45) years and has won multiple awards. Her proudest moment in her career was getting casted on the International Film, Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther 2

Film Experience

• The Air up there (1994)
• Chicken Biznis (1999)
• I dreamed of Africa (2000)
• Country of my Skull (2004)
• Fanie Fourie se lobola (2013)
• Black Panther (2018)
• Blessers (2019)
• Losing Lerato (2019)
• Seriously Single (2020)– Netflix
• Courting Anathi (2020)
• Black is King (2020)
• Queen Sono (2020) – Nextfilx
• Umama (2021)
• Black Panther 2 (2022)

Naledy Selepe, a 23-year-old Cinematographer and an Outside Broadcast Camera Operator, originally hails from Polokwane, Limpopo, but now resides in Johannesburg. With a passion for visual storytelling deeply rooted in capturing both the essence of film and the excitement of live sports, Naledy has dedicated two years to honing their craft in the dynamic world of film and sports TV. Through her innovative approach and commitment to excellence, Naledy has made significant contributions to the sports broadcast industry, earning recognition and accolades, including a prestigious award for outstanding camera operation. Her journey serves as a testament to the power of passion, dedication, and talent in shaping a successful career in media production.

For the past decade Corine Spurr has been working as an industry professional for a company supplying specialist technical services for post-production, handling various aspects of post-production work with finesse and technical acumen.

The pivot to becoming a Digital Imaging Technician came in 2018 when a production, in need of a DIT, sought assistance from the technical post-production company Corine is working for. Recognizing her technical expertise and problem-solving skills, her partner, a trusted collaborator, recommended her for the role. Recognizing the underrepresentation of women in technical roles, she actively works towards creating a supportive and inclusive environment where female DIT professionals can thrive.

Maganthrie has worked across television, features, film festivals, and film training often collaborating with producer Dingi Ntuli in their film production company Masala Film Works. She became the first black to direct a feature film in South Africa, 34 South in 2005 (Premiered at Pan African Film Festival in LA). She has worked as Episode Director and Production and Post Production Supervisor on the acclaimed reality show Imagine Afrika. She was a senior content producer on Rise – Talk Show Hosted by Kgomotso Matsunyane and Lebo Ramofoko on SABC1. Maganthrie has directed over 40 documentaries for television, UN agencies, and other organizations, she directed her second feature in the USA, Austin Texas. One of her passions has been working to get films to local audiences. She loves Breaking it down and teaching film to different constituencies.

Mmabatho Montsho is a Johannesburg based writer, director, producer and visual artist. She has an MA in Script and Screenwriting from Falmouth University. Her film and television projects champion the black feminine experience. Among her notable films are the critically acclaimed web series Women on Sex; SAFTA nominated short film Joko Ya Hao; Desmond’s Not Here Anymore (winner of Best Short Film for Change, Paris International Film Festival 2022) and The Award Ceremony (winner of Best Short Film, Worldwide Women’s Film Festival 2020). Montsho is a joint recipient of the Mbokodo Award for filmmaking (2016), and a South African Film & Television Awards for Best Achievement in Writing a TV Drama (2019), as well her culturally impactful solo fine art exhibition Manyano (2018). Passionate about the future of story, Montsho mentors emerging writers in script development.

Wendy Bednarz’s career began in NYC’s fashion industry, working for Stephen Sprouse in the old Andy Warhol Factory. There she developed a taste for the offbeat and a love of both still and moving images.

Today, Wendy’s work engages multicultural narratives. She crosses-over between storytelling forms, film, photography and video installations. Her work screened and exhibited at venues worldwide, including New York MoMA, Montreal World Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and Venice Film Festival, garnering awards such as Cine Golden Eagle and Independent Film Award. She initiated Syrian Children’s Storybook (2019), traveling to Turkey where she worked with refugees to write/illustrate their own stories.
Wendy’s wrote/directed the featurette documentary “Burning Money” (2018) and several award narrative shorts including “Leaving Gussie”(2007), “On Crystal” (2010) and “Aurora” (2000.) “ Yellow Bus” is Wendy’s debut fiction feature.

I am Lufuno Lefowa. I possess a Bachelor of Arts degree in Dramatic Arts from Wits University and a Master of Arts degree in Communication Science from Unisa, and I am currently pursuing a PhD at Unisa.

I hold the position of Senior Manager of Scripted Content for Telenovelas at Multichoice, overseeing strategic editorial direction for Mzansi Magic and Showmax. Having accumulated 15 years of substantial experience in the field of Television I began my television career at SABC in 2008 as an intern. By 2014, I had advanced to the role of Commissioning Editor, where I was responsible for overseeing the production of award-winning shows such as Uzalo, 7de Laan, Muvhango, and various other dramas.

Shirley Adonisi – A Testament to Passion, Integrity, and Perseverance

In the ever-evolving world of television and media, few figures stand out with the clarity and dedication exhibited by Shirley Adonisi. Her two-decade-long voyage in this industry, marked by determination and ceaseless learning, makes her a compelling figure of respect and aspiration.

Shirley’s story began in 2002, taking her first strides into the industry as a Production Manager. Her exceptional drive and passion soon elevated her to various esteemed roles as a Producer and a Commissioning Editor at the SABC. Each position she took on, Shirley exhibited a firm commitment to excellence, cementing her reputation as a force to be reckoned with.

Sheli Masondo is a highly acclaimed film stylist and costume designer known for her contributions to various films and theatre productions. With a career spanning over decades, Sheli has brought characters to life and helped directors realise their visions through her meticulous attention to detail and creative flair. Her impressive portfolio includes projects such as Black Is King: A Film By Beyonce, Tjovitjo, Trackers, How to Ruin Christmas, Snowfall and recently Shaka Ilembe. Sheli’s unique talent and passion for storytelling have established her as a respected figure in the industry.