Little-known local Legends
Catherine Meyburgh, Miki Redelinghuys and Khalid Shamis. Three names that might not sound too familiar, unless you have anything to do with the South African documentary space. These three very different individuals are but a few of the trailblazing filmmakers that represent South Africa in the international documentary industry. They have dedicated their lives to their passion - documentary storytelling and making a difference.
Catherine Meyburgh
Films:
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Kentridge and Dumas in Coversation (2009)
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A Man for All Seasons (2014)
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Dying for Gold (2018)
Khalid SHamis
Films:
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IMAM AND I (2011)
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The Killing of Imam (2010)​​
Editor:
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Afrikaaps (2010)
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The Silent Form (2016)
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Strike a Rock (2017)
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Scenes From A Dry City (2018)
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Miki
Redelinghuys
Films:
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​Keiskamma: A Story of Love (2007)
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This Land (2017)
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Mother City (2020)
PHOTO: Wianda Gilliland
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PHOTO: Encounters
PHOTO: Encounters
Catherine Meyburgh
Meyburgh, who has worked on over 30 documentaries, learned on the job as she did not attend film school. This was not a setback for the industry legend as she is presently one of the most respected and acclaimed filmmakers in the South African impact documentary industry. Meyburgh, who was born into an anti-apartheid-activist family with a love for films, grew up exposed to a variety of documentary films - including ones that were banned by the apartheid government before 1994 - and once she discovered her personal passion for creating films, she “worked her way up the ladder”, as she described it. The documentary director and editor is currently finding herself promoting her latest feature documentary powerhouse, Dying for Gold, which addresses the horrible fate that gold miners face, namely silicosis. She has also been involved in creating multi-projection designs and video installations and have had her work displayed at the Met opera in New York, La Scala in Milan, Iziko Cape Town, The Smithsonian Museums and most recently in the Tate Modern in London and The Armory in New York.
Miki Redelinghuys
Redelinghuys started her career in 1994 as a freelance director after obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree and B.Dram Hons at the University of Stellenbosch. Since 2000 she has been based in Cape Town, and directed her first independent feature documentary, Keiskamma: A Story of Love, which was released in 2007. As a camera director, she is passionate about telling stories for change, that explore the rich complexity of humanity. Redlinghuys also serves as the co-chair of the Documentary Filmmakers Association (DFA) and the founder of docLOVE, an initiative to grow and develop the documentary audience in South Africa. She completed her second independent impact documentary, This Land, in 2017 and is currently working on her third, Mother City, which is set to release in the coming year. Redelinghuys have had her documentary films screened at numerous international film festivals and have received many local and international awards for her work in documentary storytelling.
Khalid Shamis
Khalid Shamis is half-Libyan, half-South African, and a former Londoner. Having worked in the film industries of the UK, Middle East and Southern Africa, Shamis runs his production company Tubafilms from Cape Town. The documentary film editor has lectured at WITS University in Johannesburg, holds the South African Guild of Editors (SAGE) acronym and has acquired numerous awards for his work. His feature length documentary, IMAM AND I, was received to critical acclaim. Shamis trained in the UK as a film and TV writer, director and editor. He settled in SA in 2005, largely motivated by his connection to his mother and grandfather’s Cape Malay heritage. He is a member of The South African Screen Federation (SASFED), as well as a member of the Documentary Filmmakers’ Association (DFA) and the SA Scriptwriters’ Union (SASWU). Shamis short film based on his feature documentary, The Killing of the Imam, which won the best short documentary SAFTA in 2011.