The IPO represents, protects and promotes the interests of independent South African film, television and digital media producers and, in turn, all who work in and are suppliers to the industry value chain.

IPO COMMUNICATIONS

WHAT WE DO:

The communications sub-committee functions to increase the visibility of the IPO as well as be the voice of the organization on matters pertaining to crucial policy and industry-relevant topics. This subcommittee’s role is to amplify the voice of the IPO to the public in order to attract and grow new membership and improve the reputation of the IPO to members, stakeholders, and the government.

We work to do this by providing regular updates on the industry as well as on any upcoming opportunities. This includes holding informative webinars and events to help producers in the SA Film and Television industry leverage policy and frameworks in order to get visibility for themselves and their projects.

Through regular newsletters, website updates, and social media updates, we will communicate with the SA Film and Television family at large, providing value through comprehensive and consistent communication.

OUR GOALS FOR 2023/ 2024:


 

SUBCOMMITTEE LEADERSHIP:

 

Chair: Lauren Clifford-Holmes

Lauren began her career as a video and photojournalist in 2008, establishing multimedia news departments for News24 and the Mail & Guardian. She spent a decade breaking new ground in online mixed media content production, before going on to freelance for advocacy organisations and NGOs, such as Human Rights Watch, a sector she has been deeply committed to since her student days as photographer, campaign manager and fundraiser.

Seeking a significant platform for worthy stories, capacitated to achieve greater creative visions and reach broader audiences, she found her home in documentary filmmaking in 2015. She has since worked on award-winning independent and commissioned documentary features, docuseries and shorts with various production houses, and as an independent producer, establishing her company in 2020, LCH MEDIA.

Her roles have spanned the filmmaking value chain, including; development and content producer, head of production, series producer, line producer and post producer. Clients have ranged from local ­government to international NGOs, major broadcasters such as CGTN and streaming giants like Netflix.

She has also worked on a number of Advocacy campaigns as project coordinator, leading two big contracts for the European Union Delegation to South Africa and for National Treasury. During these campaigns she was also photographer and film director/ producer.

She is actively committed to developing South African documentary film production and local producers, volunteering for several years with the Documentary Filmmakers Association (DFA) as co-facilitator of the docLOVE screening programme, and as a docSHARE mentor to young filmmakers.

Her journalism and advocacy routes remain a solid foundation to her ethos as a filmmaker, motivating her to prioritise message-driven content that creates debate, challenges norms and breaks new ground. Her ambition is to deliver productions of an exceptional standard that captures and inspires global audiences, while ensuring new ideas and voices are realised from within a robust and relevant local film industry.

 

Deputy Chair: Kudi Maradzika

Passionate about where story and business meet, Kudi is a Zimbabwean-born multi-award-winning actress, writer, executive producer, and content specialist working in the creative storytelling and technology spaces. A multi-award (SAFTA, Promax, African Film Academy Award, and Loerie) winning and nominated executive producer and content specialist, and the 2021 Netflix Episodic Lab Finalist. Kudi is also a scriptwriter with two feature scripts shortlisted for the 2018 and 2022 Sundance Feature Film Writer’s Lab. She is director of Lincoln Green Media. A gifted voice-over actor, Kudi’s voice has featured in regional and global campaigns for Discovery Bank, BBC, Netflix, Tecno Mobile global, Mercedes Benz, and Audi, lending her voice to animation and video game characters. Kudi is a trained theatre actress, having studied at UCT Hiddingh Campus. Her notable acting achievements include a 2006 African Film Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in ‘Tanyaradzwa’.

With 12 years of experience in scripted, and non-scripted formats in various mediums such as TV series, features, animation, digital and short-form production, Kudi has functioned in the capacity of managing commissioning editor and executive producer at Paramount Africa (2018 to 2022) and as a freelancer, producing content for AVOD, SVOD, free-to-air, and PAY TV platforms and channels such as Netflix, M-Net, and YouTube. Kudi is also a digital marketer and content creator with a specialization in creating short-form content for brands in addition to being a content creator herself on platforms like YouTube and Tik Tok. She is interested in growing in fields where technology and storytelling intersect such as VFX, gaming, VR fields, Ai and Web3. Kudi is passionate about creative storytelling for an African audience, with an understanding of content strategy for a studio business as well as content production; including post-production, programming, packaging, localization, and licensing for broadcast.