UKZN: Howard College, Media and Cultural Studies

Congratulations to our Class of 2024. Some highlights from the Autumn graduation on the 7th of May 2025.

And a second nomination. Congratulations to Elihle September and the team from the NIHSS Catalyst project at UKZN for their nomination for the Simon Mabhunu Sabela awards 2025. Siyaziqenya ngani!

🏆🎞️ BEST MICRO BUDGET FILM
Celebrating creativity and innovation on a small scale.

The nominees for Best Micro Budget Film are:
Elihle September for Daughters of Lost Fathers

Matthew Couperthwaite for Waar Is Joshlin

Nobulali K**a for Entabeni

Who will prove that great stories can be told on any budget?

Congratulations to Elihle September and the team from the NIHSS Catalyst project at UKZN for their nomination for the Simon Mabhunu Sabela awards 2025. Siyaziqenya ngani!

🏆🎞️ BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT FILM Celebrating impactful stories told in a concise format.

The nominees for Best Documentary Short Film are: Elihle September for Daughters of Lost Fathers

Lwazi Duma for Water Drops

Zama K**afikeni Msibi for Makati - The Silent Pockets of a Townshipboy

Who will be recognised for their storytelling?

After completion of 12 sessions with award-winning film industry mentors, the Video Production students alongside alumni from AFDA and Creative Arts College, partnered to produce three refreshing short documentaries.

In Amaphupho- Kwanele’s Journey, a graduate student tracks her first day of arrival on a university campus to be met by striking students, burning buildings and police firing rubber bullets. Kwanele believes that this could spell the end of her dreams. The film is a remarkable testimony to her resilience and perseverance.

In GIFTED, the film producers explore how the University of KwaZulu Natal upholds African Values by assisting students who need to respond to ancestral callings and balance their academic studies.

The film, DAUGHTERS OF LOST FATHERS: A TRIBUTE TO MY FATHER explores the
journey of healing and resilience from growing up without fathers. Intimate interviews, personal stories, and archival footage delve into the emotional impact of fatherly absence in the lives of daughters.

This event was launched Friday the 6th of September at Howard College. Thank you to our partners and to developmental sponsor who have made this project a success.
NIHSS University of KwaZulu-Natal

Congratulations to our class of 2023 graduates. We’re proud of you.

Day 5 of The Documentary Film masterclasses at Westville Audio Visual Studio. We are talking everything; film sets, production, networking, hierarchies, sexism and racism in film and networking with the award-winning Sinesipho Makaula.

UKZN Howard campus , Media and Cultural Studies Departments in Partnership with the National Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences NIHSS has been the quiet powerhouse behind the revival of Film.

Together with the Centre for Creative Arts and other talented Film Practitioners, they have launched masterclasses on documentary Filmmaking. These workshops are aimed at enhancing skills in the film training. They will be held from the 9th of April until 29th of May 2024.

Currently the session is being led by Obett Motaung, an award winning screenwriter and film director.

One of our lecturers, Abulele Njisane, was featured as a "Woman that Inspires" by UKZN.

Proud moment for UKZN: Howard College, Media and Cultural Studies, our Video Production outputs for 2023, will be showcased at the African Brazil Festival.