Interviews with South African Filmmakers and Screenwriters

Daniel Dercksen talks to SAFTA-winning and Annie Award-nominated composer, screenwriter and producer Bruce Retief about his passion project 1960

Writer-producer Bruce Retief with director King Shaft during the filming of 1960.


Daniel Dercksen Talks To Veteran Filmmaker Jans Rautenbach

Legendary South African Filmmaker Koos Roets Talks About PawPaw Vir My Darling

Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with Filmmaker Gavin Hood about screenwriting and filmmaking

2 Thirds of a Man – Writer-director Earl Kopeledi’s passionate “love letter to the Coloured community”

Writer-director Craig Gardner talks about My Father’s War

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Screenwriter Tertius Kapp talks about writing Gaia

Celebrated Screenwriter Tertius Kapp talks about Griekwastad

Writer-director John Barker talks about Wonderboy For President

Daniel Dercksen in conversation with Sean Else



Johnny Breedt 2

Interview with Die Ontwaking producer, writer and director Johnny Breedt

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Production Designer and filmmaker Johnny Breedt talks about Sergio and how the Corona Pandemic has severely impacted the entertainment industry.

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Writing Studio graduate Karen Van Schalkwyk talks about the 15-years of bringing The Adventures Of Supermama to the big screen

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Henk Pretorius Talks About Modder en Bloed

Henk Pretorius talks about being a South African filmmaker in Hollywood/ UK

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Producer-writer-director Sallas de Jager talks about Dominee Tienie

Sallas De Jager Talks About Jonathan

Sallas De Jager Talks About Free State

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South-African director Michael Matthews talks about his breakthrough on Netflix with Love and Monsters and being a filmmaker. 

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Writer-director Etienne Kallos talks about Die Stropers (The Harvesters)

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Musician, composer, writer, performer Charl-Johan Lingenfelder talks about writing the screenplay for Kanarie in collaboration with director Christiaan Olwagen

Writer-Director Johannes Ferdinand van Zyl talks about his astounding new South African Film The Recce



Screenwriter Emma Lungiswa de Wet talks about the South African Film Glasshouse

Writer-Director Ryan Kruger talks about his South African cult hit film Fried Barry

Writer-director Uga Carlini talks about her inspirational and life-affirming film Angeliena

Director Meg Rickards talks about her winning streak with Kaalgat Karel

Writer-director René van Rooyen talks about her magical South African film Toorbos

Writer-director Derick Muller talks about the extraordinary Wesens, a groundbreaking, first of its kind Afrikaans found-footage Sci-Fi film that subverts conventional rules and clichéd notions.

Director André Velts talks about Vergeet My Nie

Screenwriter Tarryn-Tanille Prinsloo talks about writing Vergeet My Nie

Celebrated filmmaker, screenwriter and playwright Christiaan Olwagen brings Poppie Nongena to life on film

Writer-director Nicola Hanekom talks about Cut-Out-Girls

Writer-Director Brett Michael Innes talks about his masterful adaptation of Fiela Se Kind

Writer- director Quentin Krog (Ballade vir ‘n Enkeling / Vir die Voëls) talks about the unconventional Ander Mens.

Producer- writer-director Judy Naidoo’s Kings of Mulberry Street brings together the rich and colourful world of the Indian community in the 80s as well as Bollywood cinema and songs from that era, in a tale that peers into the past through the prism of the present. Read Interview

Writer-director Eubulus Timothy talks about the surfing movie Deep End

Writer-director-actor Hendrik Cronje talks about his feature debut Liewe Lisa

Director and co-writer Gray Hofmeyr about Leon Schuster’s Frank And Fearless.

Ivan Botha and Donnalee Roberts talk about Vir Altyd


  • Amy Jephta talks about writing the screenplay for Ellen: The Ellen Pakkies Story
    Writer-director Ivan Botha talks about his directorial debut Stroomop.
    A few thoughts with the creative team behind the hilarious action comedy Thys & Trix: Writer-director Quentin C. Krog, screenwriter Frannie Van Der Walt, and actors/ husband-and wife team Leandie du Randt Bosch and Bouwer Bosch
  • 29-year-old writer-director Nosipho Dumisa makes her feature film debut with the South African crime-thriller Nommer 37. Set in Haven Mansions, a fictional block of apartments in Dumisa’s imagined suburb of the Cape Flats. The film looks through the eyes of a former petty criminal, who has been spat out by the very world he once thrived in and left to observe it from the outside. Read Interview
  • Meerkat Maantuig  is inspired by the youth novella Blinde Sambok by renowned South African author Riana Scheepers. Writer-director Hanneke Schutte, decided to use the book as a point of departure and turn it into a cinematic story set in the majestic forests of Magoebaskloof, South Africa. A fearful young hypochondriac with an overactive imagination, descends into darkness as she realises that she’s the only one left with a cursed family name. With the help of her new friend Bhubesi and his make-shift moonship, she’ll have to find the inner strength to face her fears in order to break the curse. Written and directed by Hanneke Schutte. In Afrikaans with English subtitles.  Trailer Interview with Writer-director Hanneke Schutte
  • In the new Afrikaans romantic comedy Wonderlus, a wedding goes awry and the morning after, friends and foes need to piece together the puzzle of the night before. In search of answers, a groom (Edwin van der Walt) needs to pursue the love of his life, a bride (Mila Guy) has to untangle herself from the past and a waitress (Lea Vivier) tries to escape the present. Read interview with writer-director Johan Cronje
  • South African producer, writer, director and actor Frans Cronjé’s brand-new The Roar is about the life of Louise du Preez, a farm-girl dreaming about the fulfillment of her unique singing and dancing talent on the international stage. Firmly believing that if you dream it you really can do it, her life and dreams are shattered when the expectations of her fiancé André and her stubborn dad, Ranger turn out to be solid obstacles. It’s about a woman realising that willpower is the difference between success and the disaster of never start living your unique purpose.  Even the negativity of her fiancé and the stubbornness of her dad turn into stepping stones when life is left to God’s will and timing. Filmmaker Frans Cronje talks about The Roar, An Inspirational New South African Film  / Trailer  / Read more /
  • The powerful South African film Raaiselkind explores the unrelenting burden of autism on an average, loving family and shows the disintegration of the family as a result. It drives home the inescapable truth that society can be cruelly indifferent to whatever it perceives to be aberrant. Screenwriter Pieter Esterhuizen talks about writing the screenplay
  • Modder & Bloed is a dream come true for The Writing Studio graduate Henk Pretorius. Read more
  • Writer-director Sallas De Jager talks about his uproarious comedy Jonathan that deals with a dreamer and wannabe stand-up comedian who embarks on a roller coaster journey of self-discovery.
  • The Writing Studio’s proud graduate Sallas de Jager is winning the hearts of audiences worldwide with his sensational Free State, which he wrote-directed and produced, garnering the Best Director award and Special Jury award for scriptwriting at the Luxor African Film Festival in Egypt last month, as well as Best Cinematography at the Garden State Film Festival in New Jersey, New York.
  • Writer-director John Barker, a proud graduate of The Writing Studio, is turning politics inside out and upside down with his biting independent mockumentary Wonder Boy For President.
  • Safe Bet is a winner for The Writing Studio Graduates:  Director-producer Bonginhlanhla Ncube and screenwriter Carl Roddam
  • Daniel Dercksen Shares A Few Thoughts With Safe Bet Writer-Director-Producer Mr. B
  • The Wound was born out of a desire to push back against clichéd stereotypes of black masculinity perpetuated inside and outside of African cinema,” says writer-director John Trengrove, whose critically acclaimed drama explores tradition and sexuality and is set amid the Xhosa rites of passage into manhood. “As a white man, representing marginalised black realities that are not my own, the situation is of course complicated. Even highly problematic. It was important to me that the story mirrors this problem. The character of Kwanda is an outsider to the traditional world; he expresses many of my own ideas about human rights and individual freedom. He’s also the problem. His preconceptions create jeopardy and crisis for others who have much more to lose than him. This was my way of saying, ‘‘I don’t have the answers and my own values don’t necessarily apply here’’. Read Interview / Read more about The Wound/  Visit the website  / Trailer 
  • She is King is a joyous celebration of Zulu culture in a glossy contemporary setting, showing off the City of Gold as the Broadway of Africa. Think ‘Smash’ meets ‘Lion King’, in Joburg. Khanyisile is a talented singer, dancer and actor who wants to be a star. She travels from her home in Nongoma in Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, to audition for a new musical to be staged at the Joburg Theatre based on the life of Zulu Queen Mkabayi ka Jama. After a couple of detours, she lands a role in the chorus and catches the eye of the best-looking dancer in the show, charming soap star Luyanda.Will she be able to keep up with her more seasoned fellow performers, avoid the jealous machinations of the aging leading lady, and survive the punishing rehearsal schedule to make it to opening night and shine like the star she is? Directed by Gersh Kgamedi. Screenplay by Nicola Rauch and Gersh Kgamedi / Interview with screenwriter-producer Nicola Rauch / Trailer
  • A young beauty queen is flung into swift adulthood when her father assumes a new identity: Father Christmas in Liewe Kersfeesvader. Juggling an unhinged father, an impressionable kid brother and a growing romance, Nonnie has to redefine her own meaning of family. Written and directed by Ettiene Fourie (Die Windpomp, Dis Koue Kos Skat) “Liewe Kersfeesvader is a story that is incredibly personal to me. It deals with themes of family, the always-rocky transition from childhood to adulthood and, above all, love. It allows a glimpse into the lives of a typical, seemingly inconsequential family, who undergoes extraordinary challenges. Liewe Liewe Kersfeesvader is a story about choosing to love and accept your family, not despite but rather for their imperfections. It is a story about loss and it shows how there is nothing more effective than tragedy to glue a disjointed family back together.” Writer-director Ettiene FourieRead review / Interview with writer-director Ettiene Fourie / Trailer
  • Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with writer-director Etienne Fourie, who caused an uproar with his sensational Die Windpomp, and now wows us with his delightful Dis Koue Kos, Skat, based on the novel by Marita van der Vyver.
  • Director Morné du Toit’s Nul is nie niks nie is an inspiring, heart-warming story about life, death and the continued hope that can be found somewhere between the two. Read an interview
  • Writer-director Johnny Breedt talks about Die Ontwaking.Read more
  • Writer-director Brett Michael Innes talks about SinkRead more
  • Award-winning producer Bongiwe Selane talks about Happiness is a Four -Letter WordRead more
  • Darling superstars of the local film and TV industry, Ivan Botha and Donnalee Roberts, who charmed filmgoers in Pad Na You Hart, and sizzle in their latest charmer Vir Altyd (Forever) which they wrote and co-produced. Read more
  • Writer-director Koos Roets talks about ‘n Pawpaw Vir My Darling.Read more
  • Returning to her hometown, Eden Rock, and overwhelmed by the birth of her first child, Chloe van Heerden (19) tries to come to terms with motherhood in Siembamba. Despite the support from her mother, Ruby (35), Chloe struggles with the demand of being a new mom.The incessant crying of her baby, the growing sense of guilt and paranoia sends Chloe into a dark depression. With a heightened urge to protect her son, Chloe sees danger in every situation.  Chloe starts to hear voices and the humming of a childhood lullaby and sees flashes of a strange entity around her child.Convinced that the entity is real, Chloe does everything in her power to protect her son.  Is Chloe haunted by evil or is it just the baby blues? The film stars Reine Swart, Deànré Reiners, Thandi Puren, and Brandon Auret and directed by world-renowned director Darrell James Roodt (Sarafina! Treurgond, Cry the Beloved Country, Winnie Mandela) from a screenplay by Tarryn-Tanille Prinsloo. Interview with producer André Frauenstein / Trailer
  • In The House On Willow Street  a roguish kidnapper and 3 accomplices, abducts a young heiress. When they have her locked up in their inescapable lair, they discover she is possessed by a terrifying demon, which plunges them into a nightmarish experience of supernatural horror. Read an interview with writer-director and producer Alastair Orr
  • Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with writer-director Judy Naidoo, whose sensational film Hatchet Hour marks her directorial debut and is most definitely a landmark on her 20-year journey as an independent filmmaker in South Africa.
  • Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with writer-director Craig Gardner, whose film My Father’s War will help facilitate healing for a generation of men, women and children (now adults) who were deeply affected by the South Africa’s Border War  – on and off the battlefield.
  • Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with prolific television producer Anita Le Roux, who wrote the screenplay for the sensational Twee Grade Van Moord and enjoyed its debut at the Indie Karoo Film Festival, where it won the Best Film and Audience awards.
  • Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with writer-director Oliver Hermanus, whose third feature film The Endless River takes us to rural South Africa — where anger and sorrow still linger some twenty years after apartheid — and conducts an original and incisive examination of the complex relationship between perpetrator and victim.’
  • Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with storyteller and storymaker Regardt van den Bergh, whose inspirationalUitvlucht will be screened in competition at the Indie Karoo Film Festival.
  • South African filmmaker Adze Ugah talks about Mrs. Right Guy, a story that will appeal to South Africans, to everyone who has been heartbroken. It’s a story that is specifically about love but has universal appeal that celebrates living in South Africa, in Jozi, in Soweto.
  • Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with writer-director Quentin Krog about Vir Die Voëls.  Inspired by a true story, the romantic drama Vir Die Voëls was produced by Huisgenoot, in association with kykNET Films as part of their centenary celebrations in 2016.
  • Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with screenwriter and producer Morné Lane, whose film Kampterrein turns a family holiday inside out!
  • Writer-director Sean Else talks about Modder en BloedRead more
  • Screenwriter Stefan Enslin reaches for the stars with Verskietende SterRead more
  • Director Sarah Blecher talks about Dis Ek, AnnaRead more
  • Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with award-winning actor Stiaan Smith, who stars in the new Afrikaans romantic comedy Sy Klink Soos Lente, and also wrote the screenplay.
  • Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with Executive Producers and screenwriters Jarrod de Jong and Pieter Oosthuizen, whose film Eintlik Nog Baie is loaded with a good balance of romance, comedy, suspense, tragedy, and is shining with charisma. Read interview