Vaillante

In 2021 we embarked on a crazy and incredibly fulfilling journey of making a feature film for UNICEF. Well, strictly speaking a 3-part miniseries which was then cut into a 2 hour film.What it's about
It's a fictional story about child marriage in a made up country in West Africa, but it's based on a combination of many true stories of the experiences of young girls who were forced into married well before the age of 18. We'd call this a drama edutainment, funded by UNICEF with the goal of making audiences think more about the practice and its implications.Why it's a big deal for us
So many reasons. This was our first dive into long-format filmmaking. Together we produced, wrote, directed and edited the episodes. It was made in French - a language we don't speak. And finally, this actually had some real impact on the audience. Focus groups were done after the film's release (in theatres and on Canal + in 12 countries), and many responders said that the film changed their views on child marriage, with some claiming that they no longer plan to marry off their teenage daughters. Wild! Also, the bunch of awards across 10 film festivals were also nice.

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Sand Castles

In 2023, we followed up our first feature for UNICEF with a short film shot in our home town, Gqeberha.What it's about
It's another fictional story, also commissioned by UNICEF after the success of Vaillante. This one was in English thankfully, and followed the story about a 6-year-old girl growing up in a troubled home. It was an exploration into the roots of childhood trauma - showing that traumatic childhood experiences that stay with you for life are not always severe and ill-intentioned.Why it's a big deal for us
We wrote, directed and edited this film. Shooting it in our home town was really significant as we poured a lot of ourselves into the story and it was great to see it come to life in familiar locations. We also worked with two first time child actors... an incredibly challenging but rewarding experience.

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RESET EARTH

This was our biggest, most ambitious animation project.What it's about
This animated short film was where science-fiction and education meet. The film was set in a dystopian future where the ozone layer has been destroyed and a mysterious disease has shortened human life-expectancies to just 25 years. It's up to a time travelling trio to investigate how moments in the past could change their reality. The film was part of a campaign that was commissioned by the United Nations Environmental Program, and the IP of the film was expanded into a mobile game which achieved Apple's Game of the Day status shortly after its release.Why it's a big deal for us
We conceptualized and wrote this film, and directed the voice actor performances. The cast were located in Europe and the USA, and all of the performances were recorded remotely and directed over video call. Another big win for us was convincing a UN organisation to green light an ambitious time travelling story that allowed for a lot of creative freedom.

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Further together campaign

This campaign for the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth was the culmination of our venture into creative direction and content strategies.What it's about
This campaign is all about exploring the nuances of inclusive growth and financial inclusion. It's the idea that if you want to go far, go together. Over a year, we told stories through mini-documentaries and photography of organisations around the world within the Center's network. The campaign highlighted business models that are geared towards moving forward together, triple bottom lines (people, planet, profit), with a special focus on marginalised and vulnerable communities. Think smallholder seaweed farmers on tiny islands in the Philippines, or garment workers in factories in Cambodia, or marginalised women entrepreneurs in New York launching startups in their communities.Why it's a big deal for us
Mastercard is a massive client, and with that came massive expectations. This campaign pushed us creatively, and the scope of the creative meant that we were overseeing multiple teams and interacting with multiple stakeholders to deliver cohesive, high quality content.

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Making films around the world

What we can't show in these short project highlights is just how many projects we've worked on and how many countries our work has taken us to... so here's a quick snapshot.Countries we've made films in
AFRICA: Chad, Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Niger, Rwanda, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda.
ASIA: India, Nepal, Philippines.
EUROPE: Ireland, Italy, United Kingdom.
SOUTH AMERICA: Chile, Colombia.Craziest experiences
Staying in a refugee camp in Chad. Filming on an active volcano in Chile. Having a 6-person military escort in the Sahara desert. Blocking off ancient streets in Rome. A 12 hour drive to arrive at a village in the Himalayas. Eating Balut in the Philippines... just to name a few.

Talking at events and judging at film festivals

2024... the point in our creative journey where people started wanting to hear what we had to say.The Earthshot Prize
Prince William's organisation aimed at supporting environmental innovation invited us to give a talk to the 2024 Earthshot Prize finalists in Cape Town. The talk was about using storytelling to assist in scaling technical innovations that can change the world.Mastercard
Mastercard's Center for Inclusive Growth host an annual summit in Washington DC for innovators, business leaders and financiers. The 3-day event is packed with big name speakers such as Viola Davis, Elton John, Melinda French Gates... and in 2024 and 2025, we travelled to DC to talk about storytelling and the work that we were undertaking with Mastercard in the Further Together campaign.London Director's Film Awards
After winning the "Best Director" award at their 2024 edition, the festival invited us to be head judges for their 2025 edition.