Every paid up DFA member will get the electronic voting link and the system will only allow one person to vote per link to ensure that every member only votes once. On completion of the survey, please make sure that you enter your name in the space provided. It will NOT connect your name to the ballot which is completely secret, but will assist us to establish a quorum.
Voting will be open from 12:00 on 22 August and close again at 13:00 on 24 August. Voting results will be announced during the AGM.
The following members have been nominated:
Thaakirah Behardien
Profile: Thaakirah Behardien obtained her BA in film production from the University of Cape Town in 2013. During this time, two of the student films that she produced screened at major South African film festivals – including The Durban International Film Festival. After leaving university, she worked first as a production assistant then as a production coordinator specialising in feature films and still shoots. She has freelanced for numerous local production service companies and has worked on projects for the BBC, Netflix, and 20th Century Fox. In 2021, she completed her Masters degree in Documentary Arts graduating with distinction. Her short documentary An-Nisaa (Women) recently won the “Best Emerging South African Filmmaker Award” at the Encounters International South African Documentary festival. Thaakirah works as a video producer while pursuing her passion for documentary filmmaking.
Areas I would like to focus on: DocShare knowledge share webinars, DocLove film screenings
Motivation: I am deeply passionate about film and would love to contribute to the development of the South African film industry. In fact, I often joke that I eat, breathe and sleep film – especially documentaries! Together with my love for documentary filmmaking, I believe the skill set that I have developed in the film service industry can provide a valuable contribution to the DFA board.
While my interests in documentaries vary, I am particularly interested in DocShare Knowledge share webinars as well as DocLove film screenings.
Gabriella Blumberg
Profile: Gabriella Blumberg is a South African producer and director with a drive to create compelling, impactful stories. Gabriella is the Producer of the Award Winning feature documentary “I Am Here” (2021) which won many awards including Best South African Documentary at the Durban International Film Festival 2021 – this qualified the film for Oscar consideration. “Leemtes en Leegheid (A Void)”, a beautiful narrative short film about grief, was produced by Gabriella and commissioned by kykNET. It won “Best Short Film” at the Silwerskermfees 2022. Gabriella, a Durban Talents alum, is extremely passionate about advocating for breast health awareness and has directed and produced short films such as “Inheritance” (2018) and “Near not Far” (2019) that raise awareness about breast cancer. Her television advert about breast health was screened on 200 slots on eTV and DSTV in 2021.
Areas I would like to focus on: Festivals, DocLove film screenings, DocShare knowledge share webinars
Motivation: Coming into the film world as an independent producer and director I’ve learned new skills on the go. I would like to make this journey easier for upcoming filmmakers and create an environment where we can all share our experiences and make the industry more accessible.
Molatelo Bosman
Profile: Molatelo is an international award-winning filmmaker and social entrepreneur with 21 years of experience. She is the founder and owner of Bolobathaba Media Group; a multimedia production company and the academy Africa Institute of Multimedia AIM®, accredited with MICT SETA and QCTO. Before venturing into business as an independent filmmaker, content creator and philanthropist, Molatelo worked as a freelancer for local and international production companies and has also worked for broadcasters such as SABC, Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC Australia) Africa Bureau and eNCA. She is the recipient of United Nations Media Peace Award 2007 and SAFTAs 2021 receipt of Outstanding Provincial Contributor Award for her role in training and mentoring young filmmakers and digital content creators in rural South Africa, among other accolades. Her passion for skills development and transfer led to her working with emerging filmmakers as a story consultant and mentor through NFVF and KZN Film Commission. Her debut documentary feature When Babies Don’t Come (2018) won multiple awards internationally.
Areas I would like to focus on: docLOVE Film Screenings and Professional Development and Mentorship
Motivation: As a former DFA Board Member and Secretary (2014 – 2016) I am proud of the work that the DFA has accomplished to date and I would like to contribute my bit especially in the areas I have identified. My passion for documentaries is the driving force behind the work I do to promote the genre and contribute to the development and production of quality films coming from South Africa’s under-serviced provinces by entry-level documentary filmmakers. I believe there is more work that needs to be done not only in the production of quality films but also in audience development initiatives hence my choice of docLOVE Screenings and Professional Development and Mentorship as areas I would like to contribute to.
Lauren Clifford-Holmes
Profile: Lauren is a multi-skilled documentary filmmaker, who founded multimedia departments and ran online news production for News24 and the Mail & Guardian before moving into the documentary film world. She can turn her hand to many aspects of the filmmaking process from creative conceptualisation to budgeting, running production and managing delivery, having worked in multiple management and producing roles. Joining Fireworx Media in 2015, she worked as production coordinator on the globally-recognised and awarded feature, WHISPERING TRUTH TO POWER. Here she began to work on the CGTN’s FACES OF AFRICA series. First at Fireworx and then at Storyscope she came to work on 28 episodes for the series, shot around the African continent. She has pitched stories, production managed, line produced, produced, managed post and directed on these various films. While a founding member of StoryScope in 2018 she was Line Producer on the award-winning investigative documentary INFLUENCE. Her recent work includes Series Producer on the true crime series for Netflix, SENZO: MURDER OF A SOCCER STAR which aired globally in April 2022. She has moved to T+W and is currently producing a documentary slate of feature-length films and series for broadcast. She is driven to make powerful films of a high standard that inspire, that create debate and challenge the status quo.
Areas I would like to focus on: Festivals, docLOVE film screenings, Fundraising, Professional Development and mentorship
Motivation: The DFA is an important organisation in a filmmaking space that is at times confusing/ challenging/ isolating. I’d like to help the organisation grow in scope, exposure and strength, so that it may increase its important policy, development, outreach and mentorship work. All which has real-life impact on documentary filmmakers in our country. I have loved contributing via docLOVE and look forward to making increasingly meaningful contributions going forward.
Sivu Giba
Profile: Sivuyisiwe is the co-founder and director of SivuBuhle Media, a documentary and multimedia production company based in the Eastern Cape. Sivu comes with a variety of film experiences from feature film to documentary and her passion is mostly documentary filmmaking, where she had her formal film training from Big Fish School of Digital Filmmaking specializing in producing and directing. She won Best Documentary Class of 2013 at the Cape Winelands International Film Festival. She is also a Film business developer who is passionate about provincial film development and with her Degree of Entrepreneurship and New Venture creation from WITS Business School, she is able to see business opportunities through film tourism, co- productions and development. Sivu is passionate about indigenous stories and that is what she mainly produces and directs, especially authentic rural stories where the heart of the community is.
Areas I would like to focus on: DocShare Webinars, DocLove Screenings in other provinces specifically in EC, Membership Drive and Funding opportunities.
Liani Maasdorp
Profile: Liani is a senior lecturer in the Centre for Film & Media Studies at the University of Cape Town. She convenes the Master of Documentary Arts degree programme, undergraduate Screen Production courses and the UCT Sunshine Cinema Film Impact Screening Facilitator short course.She is the academic director of the UCT TV Studio and the Stepping Stone community engagement video training programme. She is the founder of the ScreenCubator film and media talent developer. She was one of the producers of Strike a Rock, which opened the Encounters International Documentary Film Festival in 2017 and screened at Sheffield DocFest, IDFA and DIFF. She has served as judge for the SAFTAS and International Emmy Awards. She was a consultant to the Deutsche Welle Akademie-supported virtual DOC:Co Impact Lab in Colombia (2021) and co-created the 100% online UCT Film Impact Screening Facilitator short course with Miki Redelinghuys and Sunshine Cinema.
Areas I would like to focus on: DocSHARE knowledge share webinars
Motivation: During the two years that I have served on the board I focused predominantly on DocSHARE. This allows me to apply my experience as a lecturer to facilitating peer to peer sharing of knowledge and experience between filmmakers, film students and other stakeholders. I believe that sharing relevant, high quality learning freely is the key to transforming the film and television industries in South Africa, and serving on the DFA board allows me to contribute to this in a meaningful way.
Khanyi Magubane
Profile: Khanyi is a seasoned Radio Broadcaster, TV and Film Producer and Media Entrepreneur. She has cut her teeth across the various media platforms of Radio/TV/Online and Print and has been widely recognised for her work in broadcast media. She runs Zinokwanda Media and Communications, a Joburg based agency and production company. A journalist by profession, she has worked for radio stations such as Talk Radio 702, YFM and SAfm. As a producer, she has produced documentaries, talk shows and made-for-television films. She has produced for broadcasters including SABC and Mzansi Magic. Her work includes the critically acclaimed documentary series. Why Are We So Angry, the hard hitting socio-economical documentary series Making Cents, and directing biographical documentary series Sheroes in Media. She was also the Executive producer of season one of Visionaries Lounge which aired on SABC 2 in 2016. In 2014 she was the recipient of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, a flagship programme by former US President Barack Obama.
Areas I would like to focus on: docSHARE knowledge share webinars
Motivation: The past year on the DFA Board has been nothing short of eye opening and a roller coaster ride in terms of getting to know the industry landscape and representing documentary filmmakers on different platforms. I have learnt about my own strengths as a team player and I would like to continue working on the Board to continue the work of creating opportunities for documentary filmmakers in South Africa and with time, the African continent too. I am hard working, diligent and committed to any cause I get involved in. I believe my presence on the Board will continue to bring value for the organisation and I would be honoured to be nominated again.
Morgan Morris
Profile: A science writer by gainful employment for more than two decades but, as he likes to tell his hopefully impressionable dates, a filmmaker by calling and joy, Morgan Morris made the transition to filmmaking in 2018 when he started his MA in documentary arts at UCT. (He is yet to submit a thesis film.) Too old to be employed to carry boxes on a film set – the typical launchpad for a filmmaking newbie – Morgan has accepted that he will have to forge his own path in the industry. With this in mind, he has converted his proposed MA films into independent projects under the umbrellas of his two companies, 1808 Films and TailorMade Revolutions. He is currently finalising the teaser of his debut short documentary, ‘The Girl Who Went to Norway and Came Back’, the development of which is funded by the National Film & Video Foundation. In addition, he is into the second year of shooting a self-funded short documentary on a Cape Town mother who coached one of her autistic sons through his first and, this year, second marathons, a film provisionally titled ‘The Boy Who Ran’. (Morgan is working to improve his titling repertoire.) This film is shot entirely on Go-Pro cameras, and calls for a lot of running. Morgan has also started the development of what he imagines as a documentary triptych, looking at the link between masculine identity among boys and intimate partner violence in Cape Flats communities. In addition, he has started writing two short fictional screenplays, hoping to shoot at least one in 2023. He is a member of the DFA, as well as the Independent Producers Organisation (IPO) and the Independent Black Filmmakers Collective (IBFC), neither of which, to their shame perhaps, use an apostrophised-s in their names. Morgan also enjoys watching and playing football to a degree that may undermine the integrity of both his knees and his standing as a serious filmmaker.
Areas I would like to focus on: Festivals, DocSHAREe knowledge share webinars, DocCHAT webinars, Professional Development and mentorship
Motivation: I love films. Not all films, but all kinds of films. This love has begat an enthusiasm that I like to think I invest in all parts of my filmmaking journey – whether it’s teaching myself new editing or writing software, doing actual filming, discovering new cameras and lenses, or just hanging out with and annoying other filmmakers. (I rarely let an opportunity for the latter pass me by.) I love learning about the industry – its workings and its characters. And serving on the DFA board would allow me to do more of these things, meaning hanging out with filmmakers and learning about the industry. Not that I don’t have little bugbears about the industry, particularly the dearth of moral and other support for emerging filmmakers. This may not be out of meanness on the part of established filmmakers – after all, the pie is finite and why aid another pie-eater – but simply because they’re busy, of course. I have been fortunate enough that I have been able to identify and find seasoned filmmakers who have been able to guide and assist me when I needed guidance and assistance. (It’s typically around paperwork.) To the person, they have been forthcoming and generous with their time and their expertise. But I have nonetheless been frustrated when I see talented young filmmakers – especially those who don’t have the necessary networks and resources, but desperate to get a toehold in the industry – fumbling around in the dark. If I were selected to the DFA board, this is something I in particular would like to address – the structured development of the next generation of documentary filmmakers in South Africa. It is such an amazing, pliable genre, but we need more filmmakers to do the plying.
Tshililo waha Muzila
Profile: I have worked on internationally acclaimed Productions both as D.O.P, Director, Editor, Post Production Supervisor and now currently producing feature-length Documentaries such as Heart-line (Ghana), Homesick (Hong Kong & SA), Tropika Island of Treasure (Thailand & Mexico), Clash of the Choirs, My World, Our Moments, Sheroes, The Perfect Sishebo Show, The Kids are Alright and The Longest Date (DOP). My professional Directing career started in 2008 with an SABC 2 Human Interest Factual series ‘Heartcore’. This led to a first Tshivenda Reality Pilot project called Vhusiku Hothe Comedy Show, a self-funded project which I co-produced and Directed. I have directed Doccie-Series for both SABC & eTV including Freedom is not Free, Forging Ahead and others. A 3 times SAFTAs nominated doccie-series, 100% Youth; which won Best Youth Programme at the South African Film & Television Awards 2017. Recently, I have formatted and directed a SAFTAs 2021 Best Travel Magazine Series, Come Again Season 4. I am also producing 2 documentary series’ for SABC 2, My Father My Hero Season 2 and Kha ri Tshine-Ma Africa Dance Season 1.
Miki Redelinghuys
Profile: Miki is a documentary filmmaker who believes in the power of film for change. She has been making films in various shapes and forms since somewhere in the mid-90’s. In 2020 she completed a Masters of Documentary Arts at UCT with a focus on social impact through film. She served as co-chair of the DFA board in 2008-2009 and again 2020-2022, supporting initiatives such as docLOVE film screenings and docSHARE. She serves as programme manager for the UCT Sunshine Cinema Impact facilitators course, with a few long term documentary feature projects in the pipeline.
Areas I would like to focus on: Festivals, DocLove film screenings, DocShare knowledge share webinars, International Strategic Relations, Local Strategic Relations, Advocacy and Lobbying, Fundraising, Professional Development and mentorship
Motivation: I believe in the power of togetherness. Documentary is my passion, it’s in my bones. But it can be isolating and alone, carving a path in a fractured industry where budgets and attention spans are shrinking. I believe the DFA has played a strong part in building networks, growing solidarity amongst filmmakers, creatives and activists and we have achieved a great deal since 2007. I’d like to build on some of the initiatives of the last few years, docLOVE’s engagement through film and growing the industry through docSHARE. I believe this is a generous space where we share knowledge and connections and love being here.
Shameela Seedat
Profile: Shameela Seedat is a former fulbright scholar who worked in law for over 10 years before turning to filmmaking. Her first feature-length documentary WHISPERING TRUTH TO POWER won multiple awards, including from Hot Docs FF, FESPACO , the Luxor African Film Festival and from the African Studies Association. Her second feature length documentary AFRICAN MOOT has just completed post-production. Shameela has also directed several programs for local and international television stations, as well as a series of ten short films on social justice activists in South Africa. She was the 2019 Film Resident Activist at the Tshisimani Centre for Activist Education, and served on the documentary film jury at the Sydney Film Festival in 2018 and on the Documentary Film Association (DFA) Citizen Journalists Jury in 2020. Shameela has published widely on law and social justice in various journals, newspapers and book chapters.
Areas I would like to focus on: docSHARE knowledge share webinars
Motivation: I am committed to playing an active role in strengthening the DFA across all its efforts at fostering an inclusive, thriving, supportive, sustainable and encouraging space for documentary filmmakers to create their strongest work.
Karin Slater
Profile: Karin was invited as a lifetime member of the Academy and judge of the Oscars in 2020. She works as a director and cinematographer with her main interest in indigenous wisdom and wildlife. Her documentaries have screened at Sundance, Berlinale, Hot Docs, Museum of Modern Art, New York and she has won numerous awards including the Trailblazer Award for innovative and creative work in the field of documentaries at Mipdoc, Cannes 2008, Best Feature Documentary at the International Innovations Film Festival 2019, Switzerland and she’s been eligible for an Oscar. She’s also a teacher of documentary filmmaking and was head mentor at Big Fish film school for seven years and has been a lecturer at Selkirk College, BC, Canada.
Areas I would like to focus on: docLOVE screenings
Motivation: Having served on the board for a year now, I feel I’ve got a better understanding of how things work and where best to give some energy into the DFA. I’d still like to continue to help with DocLove, the festivals and general brainstorming and implementing as opportunities emerge for the industry and our members. I’ve been inspired by the dedication of the board to its members and this year, plan to be more involved.
Dylan Valley
Profile: Dylan Valley is an award winning documentary filmmaker and educator. He is currently a Lecturer at the Centre for Film and Media Studies at the University of Cape Town, and a PhD student in media studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. In 2013 he received a Pulitzer Fellowship from the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles, where he received his Masters in Specialized Journalism. At USC he completed his thesis documentary on the groundbreaking web series The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl. In January 2020, his virtual reality documentary Azibuye – The Occupation premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2020 he also served on the selection committee for the Frontlight section of the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA).
Areas I would like to focus on: DocLove Screenings, DFA Podcast, Funding opportunities, student-filmmaker interactions and exchanges.
Motivation: I would like to serve as a bridge for the students I teach at UCT to the SA documentary community, dnd serving on the DFA board should allow ample opportunity to do so. As a practitioner working in virtual reality documentaries and emerging forms of media, I believe I will bring a fresh angle to the board, in terms of new opportunities for SA filmmakers. As someone who has served on the board before, I have a solid understanding of the mandate of the DFA. Having worked on IDFA Frontlight in 2020, I am hoping to foster strategic international partnerships as well. I hope to contribute to creating a DFA that serves all of its members.
