Guests at this year's Festival
Bonang Matheba
Documentary Subject: Public Figure
Bonang Matheba born 25 June 1987 is a South African television personality, radio host and business woman. She rose to fame when she became a presenter in the SABC 1 music show, LIVE (2007-2012), now known …
Bonné de Bod
Co-producer/Documentary Subject: Stroop
Bonné is well known as an award winning wildlife television presenter. She has been on South Africa’s popular wildlife and environment programme 50|50 for seven seasons and is also a special correspondent for SABC’s Newsroom. In …
Brian Corso
Director: Public Figure
Brian Corso has been described by many as a creative visionary. From a young age, Corso has had a passion for filmmaking and dreams of directing. As a businessman, Corso’s career flourished while he built a …
Catherine Meyburgh
Co-director: Dying for Gold
Catherine Meyburgh works as director, editor and producer in documentary, fiction films and television. Her work in multi-projection design has been seen at the Met opera, New York, La Scala, Milano amongst many others. She has …
Craig Cameron-Mackintosh
Director: Billy Monk
Craig Cameron-Mackintosh is an artist, writer and first-time filmmaker based in Cape Town, South Africa. Billy Monk – Shot in the Dark pays homage to the late Billy Monk and his evocative black and white photographs, in an intimate …
Dali Tambo
Documentary Subject: O.R. Tambo
Dali began his career in film and television in the UK, where he was in exile for 30 years and worked on productions such as Richard Attenborough’s ‘Cry Freedom’, and BBC Documentary, ‘Nelson Mandela, In His …
Emmanuelle Antille
Director: A Bright Light
Born in 1972 in Lausanne, Emmanuelle Antille studied at the ESAV in Geneva and at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam. Since 1995, she has developed her artistic practice as a video artist and film director. Emmanuelle Antille …
Enver Samuel
Director: Someone To Blame
Enver Samuel has studied both practical and theoretical aspects of Film and Television both locally and abroad in England, Australia and Germany. A scholarship enabled him to obtain a BA in Media Studies – Edith Cowan University, Australia …
Erin Davis
Documentary Subject: Miles Davis
Erin Davis, son of late jazz icon Miles Davis, is a Los Angeles-based musician/producer/composer who heads Davis Artists Group and runs Miles Davis Properties, LLC along with his sister (Cheryl Davis) and his cousin (Vince Wilburn, Jr.). He has also toured and recorded with Miles Davis. …
Francois Verster
Co-director: Scenes from a Dry City
Francois Verster is an Emmy-award winning documentary filmmaker based in Cape Town, South Africa. His films generally follow creative and observational approaches to social issues and have all won local and international awards – these include …
Frederik Gertten
Co-director: Jozi Gold
Fredrik Gertten is an award-winning Swedish director and journalist. His latest works BECOMING ZLATAN (2016), BIKES VS CARS (2015), BIG BOYS GONE BANANAS!* (2012) and BANANAS!* (2009) have met audiences in over 100 countries and screened …
Godfrey Pendaka
Director: Still a Man
Mabasa Godfrey, who is also known as Godfrey Pandeka, was born at Malamulele in Limpopo in 1990. He completed his matric in 2009. He enrolled at the University of Limpopo (Turfloop campus) for a Bachelor of …
gugulethu
Director/Producer: Zulu Return
gugulethu is a first-time director, who has been working mainly as a producer since making a career change into filmmaking in 2009. She also has experience in shooting and editing. gugulethu produced feature documentary Sonny Rollins …
Hassane Mezine
Director: Fanon Yesterday, Today
Born in 1972, Hassan Mezine is a professional photographer with 10 years of experience as an educator in digital photography and multimedia. In 2004 he enriches his technic by participating in the shooting of the movie …
Jessie Zinn
Jessie Zinn is a filmmaker from Cape Town. Her short films have screened at international film festivals, including Visions Du Reel, BFI Film Festival, Encounters, Durban International Film Festival, and MoMA doc fortnight. In 2017 she …
Jo Menell
Documentary Subject: Americans, Mongrels & Funky Junkies
Jo Menell is a rare man whose life of exile and activism has aligned with many of the key moments and figures of the last 60 years. His exceptional capacity to be both storyteller and subject offers an unusual and brilliant perspective and, as we see him finally make sense of his personal exile, a radical way forward. …
John Paul Basson
Director: Unsafe
John Paul Basson young filmmaker as well as a soccer coach with a heart to tell stories that affect him and expose the reality of his surroundings. Joining the DOCi course allowed him to understand documentary …
Karin Jurschick
Director: Playing God
Born 17.10.1959 in Essen. Studied theater, film and television science, German studies and history at the University of Cologne. 1984 co-founder of the International Women’s Film Festival Feminale, 14 years co-organizer and program-maker. From 1990 cultural …
Mads Brügger
Director: Cold Case Hammarskjöld
Mads Brügger is a Danish journalist, television host, author and filmmaker. He has written several books, worked for magazines and newspapers, produced award-winning radio programs, and hosted the critically acclaimed late-night television show The 11th Hour, …
Maganthrie Pillay
Maganthrie Pillay has directed 2 feature films and more than 40 documentaries. She was Director in SA on the innovative reality show Imagine Afrika. Senior Content Producer on Rise talk show. Curated on many film festivals …
Mark J. Kaplan
Director: Village vs Empire
Director Mark J Kaplan is one of South Africa’s foremost documentary filmmakers. He was held in solitary confinement and deported from Apartheid South Africa. His films have focused on social and political issues, human rights and …
Mark Street
Director: The Space
Mark trained as an actor before directing and writing plays on the London fringe circuit. He was a co-founder of 104 Theatre Company with which he won the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe First Award for a devised …
Mihlali Qolo
Director: DOCi Shorts Programme
My name is Mihlali Qolo, born and raised in the rough streets of Khayelitsha, where my love and interest for documentary filmmaking peaked because of the impact it does for people who don’t have the voice …
Monde Kawana
: DOCi Shorts Programme
Is a Zambian filmmaker based in Cape Town currently working at benchfilms as a production coordinator, a City Producer for the 48 Hour Film Project Cape Town and at the DOCi Emerging Filmmakers Programme as a …
Mpumelelo Mcata
Co-director: Film Festival Film
Mpumelelo is one of South Africa’s leading artists and cultural activists. Best known as one part of internationally acclaimed award winning South African rock band the BLK JKS – Mpumelelo plays the guitar, self-taught at that, …
Neil Shaw
Director: Cape Town's Beach Calligraher
Neil Shaw has been producing documentaries and tv inserts from every region of Africa since 1999 working with broadcasters such as AL Jazeera and Mnet, The ASSOCIATED Press news agency and the UNITED NATIONS. www.neilshaw.tv …
Nelson Makengo
Director: Tabu
Nelson Makengo graduated in Visual Communication at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa. After having participated in master classes in photography, residencies for documentary writing in Kinshasa, Saint Louis Senegal and a training course in …
Nereu Afonso da Silva
Director: Election Day
Nereu Afonso is a Brazilian filmmaker born in 1970. He graduated from University of São Paulo, Brazil, with a degree in Philosophy and trained at Jacques Lecoq’s Theater School in Paris, France. He co-wrote fiction short …
Nicole Schafer
Director: Buddha in Africa
Nicole Schafer (Writer, Director, Producer & Cinematography) “Buddha in Africa” has been many years in the making by first-time South-African director Nicole Schafer (1980). Nicole has lived in Malawi where she produced award-winning stories for Reuters …
Octavia Sonyane
Director: Still I Stand
I am a storyteller at heart, a social justice activist that is people driven and inspired by lives of many from my township in Orange Farm. I am passionate about documentary storytelling because those are stories …
Paul Yule
Director: Americans, Mongrels & Funky Junkies
In a distinguished career, Paul Yule has made more than 35 films on six continents, often on controversial political and social themes, several of which have won major awards, including an International Emmy (for Damned In The USA), a Royal Television Society …
Perivi Katjavivi
Co-director: Film Festival Film
Perivi is an award winning Namibian filmmaker. He was born in Oxford, England to an English mother and a Namibian father. He grew up in Windhoek, Namibia and studied film at Columbia College in Los Angeles …
Rebecca Achieng Ajulu-Bushell
Director: Breakfast in Kisumu
Rebecca grew up all over Africa before returning to the UK to pursue sport. After competing at the Commonwealth Games, she quit the Olympic Team to attend Oxford University, graduating with BFA hons. She learnt French …
Richard Pakleppa
Co-director: Dying for Gold
Born in 1961 in Namibia, Namibian writer, director and producer Richard Pakleppa has directed and produced documentaries and fiction films in Southern Africa since 1990. His work has been screened at international film festivals and broadcast …
Richard Starkey
Richard began his film industry career in the first digital audio suite in SA, back in 1991. After being headhunted, he moved into film editing and trained at Cutaways under two of the country’s top offline …
Robyn Frost
Director: DOCi Shorts Programme
Robyn Frost is a journalist based in Cape Town. Her love for story-telling and radio led her to work in those industries. Recently, she enrolled in a 10-week film course facilitated by DOCI and the American …
Sandra Vieira
Sandra Vieira is a multiple SAFTA award winning television and film editor, with almost two decades experience in the South African television and film industry. With an eye for both offline and online editing, Sandra capably …
Sara CF De Gouveia
Director: The Sound of Masks
Born in Lisbon, Sara Gouveia is an award winning filmmaker and photographer living in Cape Town. Her mid-length documentary “Mama Goema” won the award for Best SA Documentary at the TriContinental Film Festival 2011, screened at …
Sebastian Tribbie
Documentary Subject: Public Figure
Sebastian started his online meme “career” first by working at New York City comedy clubs where he found an interest in making people laugh. At 31 years old he’s built a following of around 90 thousand …
Shameela Siedat
Before turning to filmmaking, Shameela worked in the field of human rights and social justice research and advocacy for over 15 years – including at the Constitutional Court in Johannesburg, UNIFEM in New York and the …
Shifaa Singlee
Director: DOCi Shorts Programme
Shifaa Singlee is young Capetonian with many passions, all of which are immersed in creativity. She has always had a hunger to tell stories of real people and experiences. Having been a part of a 10-week …
Simon Wood
Co-director: Scenes from a Dry City
Simon Wood’s films have screened at the worlds greatest documentary festivals, ‘Scenes from a Dry City‘ premiered in competition at IDFA 2018. Previous award winning films, ‘The Silent Form‘ and ‘Orbis‘ both premiered in competition at …
Simphiwe Dhlamini
Director: Bromwell Street
Simphiwe Dhlamini is a creative, fun and talented individual. Her passion for film is evident in her dedication and hard work as an actor and story teller. She is extremely committed to telling authentic South African …
Sinalo Jebe
Director: DOCi Shorts Programme
Sinalo Jebe born in Alice, Eastern Cape in a village called Nomadolo, grew up loving stories, storytelling and enjoyed reading drama books. In October 2018 she enrolled at the Documentary Institute of South Africa, a 10 …
Sinombulelo Venkile
Producer: Makukhanye
Sinombulelo Venkile grew up in the Eastern Cape in a small village called Lower Gxulu. I fell in love with film and TV productions at very young age, but as I grew up in the rural …
Siyanda Yokwana
Director: DOCi Shorts Programme
Siyanda Yokwana from Khayelitsha, Cape Town is an actor, dancer, writer, MC and singer who loves filmmaking and got a chance to learn the skills to direct a documentary at the 10 week DOCi course. He …
Susan Scott
Director/Co-producer: Stroop
Susan Scott is a filmmaker in Johannesburg, South Africa where she produces stories on wildlife issues for various broadcasters around the world. Prior to her directing work, she was a film editor for 17-years cutting for …
Sylvia Vollenhoven
Co-director: Jozi Gold
A writer, award-winning journalist, playwright and filmmaker. In 2019 appointed the University of Johannesburg’s first ever Professor of Practice. Commissioned by the Volksoperahuis of Amsterdam to write Krotoa Eva van de Kaap, a play that premiered …
Trygve Heide
Director: Tidal
Trygve is a filmmaker from Norway, living in Cape Town. Passionate about marine biology, he has an Honours degree in documentary filmmaking and is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Marine Biology at the University of …
Vince Wilburn Jr
Documentary Subject: Miles Davis
Vince Wilburn, Jr., nephew of late jazz icon Miles Davis, oversees Miles Davis Properties, LLC, along with Erin Davis (son of Miles) and Cheryl Davis (daughter of Miles). Wilburn, Jr. is a highly accomplished drummer, producer …
Wesley Francis
Director: DOCi Shorts Programme
Wesley Francis is a filmmaker born in Cape Town. South Africa. He began his career as a journalist, working for some of South Africa’s biggest media companies.He is passionate about media, social issues, education and technology, …
Yaara Sumeruk
Director: If We Say That We Are Friends
Yaara Sumeruk is an Argentinian-South African writer, director and editor. Her films have screened at The Locarno International Film Festival and many others. Commercially, she has directed videos for Google, Penguin Books, Park Hyatt, USPS, Rado …
Yonela Simetu
Director: DOCi Shorts Programme
Yonela Simetu is the youngest of four siblings living in Langa. He is an aspiring filmmaker and feels that there are so many stories than need to be told in his community. For him, film is …