A third year AFDA experimental film
The passionate team in front of and behind the camera.
Valerie Britz
Writer & Director
Valerie grew up in a small town in rural Mpumalanga where her love for storytelling blossomed from an early age. After graduating high school, she completed her diploma in fashion design and went on to be a finalist in the 2013 Elle Rising Star design competition, and showcased her work as part of the 2014 Emerging Creatives program at Design Indaba. After working as a freelance designer and wedding dress seamstress for a number of years, she decided to revisit her love for storytelling and pursue a degree in film, majoring in writing & directing.
Isabella Duisberg
Co-producer
Moving from Munich to Cape Town in 2004, Isabella did castings from a young age and loved the dynamic energy of being on set. After being awarded a scholarship to study film in Munich and taking a filmmaking short course at the New York Film Academy, Isabella ultimately decided to stay in Cape Town for her bachelor’s degree in producing and production design at AFDA. Taking multiple online courses during the Covid-19 lockdown, amongst them Digital Marketing and Graphic Design, Isabella is invested in continuously learning and sharpening her skillset in her various interests. She plans on working in Cape Town and contributing to the growth and recognition of its film industry.
Lauren Hall
Co-producer
Lauren Hall grew up and lived in Port Elizabeth for most of her life. She then moved to Cape Town to study Motion Picture. Since a child she has always had a camera in her hand, filming anything and everything. However, she follows in her mom's footsteps, being more of a business woman. Being a film producer and a leader, in general, has always been her dream alongside videography. Lauren's motto in life is, "If I've made a positive difference in someone's life today, then I have truly lived". This is what she believes as a leader. You need to care about those you lead.
Eduard Rautenbach
Script Supervisor
Eduard was born in Nelspruit but grew up in Polokwane for most of his young life. Needless to say it wasn’t the biggest film scene, so he decided to pack his bags and do what all young and impulsive dreamers do: move to the big city to follow the dream. In his third year at AFDA, he has learned so much, not only about the actual process of making films, but also qualities in himself and others that he never would have discovered otherwise. Simply put, we all have a passion for telling and hearing good stories. As a script supervisor, he has had the privilege of seeing this story develop from the tiniest seed into what it is today. The ups, the downs, the victories, the doubts, all of it a worthwhile process in developing our creative voices as storytellers. He loves being a part of a good story.
Marlé Retief
Director of Photography
Marlé grew up in a small town named Wellington situated on the foot of the Limietberg and spend most of her life engulfed by nature. She is currently in her final year, studying cinematography. Her creativity is spiked by literature and the translation thereof. Literature is a well-celebrated topic in her household and encouraged to love by her grandparents from a young age. She found her love for photography when she realized that it can act as a form of subjective expression, focusing primarily on documenting emotions and specific time frames in life. Although her outlook on life changes by the week, she aspires to be an active creative regardless of profession or title and live a full, fruitful life.
Benjamin Jacobs
Sound Designer
Benjamin, known as Benji, was born in Cape Town but grew up in Namibia, Windhoek for the majority of his life. His time with film began when he got inspired by film as a youngster seeing how advanced film can be behind the scenes. Not only does he strive to make epic sounding and epic looking films through Sound Design and VFX, but he loves the challenge of these disciplines, and therefore he is out to learn everything he can so that he can build on that to develop new ways of thinking around these subjects. He is always out to find what it takes to immerse the audience sonically or inspire them on a subconscious level. Trying to see how he can push limits on every project he works on and lives by a motto that innovation starts with your ambition.
Janay Coetzee
Production Designer & Stop Motion Animator
Janay Coetzee is a production design and producing student with a background and training in art and technical drawing. Having been taught to use the AutoCAD programme to accurately design blueprints for buildings including all perspective drawings. Hoping to combine her knowledge and passion for aesthetics into designing for film productions. Here she expanded by learning to translate design in SketchUp, Mixed Media perspective drawings, scale modelling and Photoshop. Since joining the AFDA course she has also gained experience in creating spaces in studio by using flats, as well as creating props and learning scenic painting techniques. She has a passion for symbolic design and exploring colour theory as a means to visually communicate theme and plot subconsciously in an audience.
Jennifer Blore
Costume & Make-up Stylist
Jennifer Blore grew up on a dairy farm in the rural parts of KZN and is now living in Cape Town, while studying a Bachelor of Arts in motion picture medium and majoring in Costume, Makeup and styling. It is during this time that she has had the opportunity to meet and work with the amazing creatives at AFDA on both inside and outside projects. Â She has a passion for makeup, all things creative and the outdoors. She hopes to further this into a full-time, fun career of filmmaking and traveling the world.
Jared Schaedler
Editor
Jared Schaedler, as a professional dancer and choreographer, has had the privilege of working with famous artists such as Rouge and choreographing the music video Good Bad Boy (2019) for Kenyan artists Dela and Reign. Jared has performed for corporate companies such as Bidvest, Red Bull, Cosmopolitan and many others making him no stranger to the understanding of performance. His passion for film, especially film editing, started from an incredibly young age, with Jared editing many school videos, church and youth services for View Church, dance videos and self-tapes for theatre auditions. Jared’s interest in filmmaking grew exponentially after being scouted for the movie Honey 3 Dare to Dance, produced by Universal Entertainment (2016). As an ambitious young editor he is ready for any opportunity and looks forward to the future.
Roark Mudde
Visual Effects Artist
Roark Mudde was born and raised in Ballito but currently resides in Cape Town. He initially began his tertiary education at Stellenbosch University studying Mathematics and Computer Science. Roark has always been passionate about animation and visual effects, motivating him to change his choice of studies. His goals are to further develop his digital sculpting skills in order to work for an animation studio.
Willa Lyle
Music Composer
Growing up in Durban, Willa has always had an affinity for the nature that surrounds them. Drawing inspiration from the warm waters of the Indian Ocean and the tall canopies of the inland gorges, they try to compose music that is vibrant and full of life. They were drawn to music from a young age, falling in love with its beautiful and expressive quality, as well as its way of universally connecting us. Through their experience in learning musical instruments and discovering digital music production, they developed a strong attraction to the experimental side of music and the pursuit of new and unsual sounds.
Kayla Goosen
Actor
Kayla's love of performance started from a young age when she wanted nothing more than to dress up like her heroes. She connected with the characters she played in various performances, such as the extract from Matilda that took her to the Royal Albert Hall in London, which only made her love for acting grow. Her passion lead her to experience a degree in acting and pursue any manner of the arts. Her goal is to be as versatile and diligent as possible in every medium available while ensuring that she appreciates her journey.