By Aisling McCarthy

The move to Egg Films

Egg Films is home to some of the country’s most awarded directors, such as Terence Neale, Sunu Gonera and Lebo Rasethaba. Radebe says that he wants to work on developing impactful work with a strong visual aesthetic and that the move to Egg was the right fit for him.

“I think the environment is really going to push me creatively. I mean, you look at the directors here – Terence, Sunu, Lebo, in fact all the guys – Jason [Fialkov], Dani [Hynes], Kyle [Lewis] you know, for me, all kind of have a specific look and there’s an aesthetic that Egg has that I’ve always been attracted to.”

He says that although he has a definite style, working with Egg Films will guide him in a new direction, saying that what we can expect to see from him is a different take and different angle on his style. By surrounding himself with such experienced directors, Radebe says that he hopes these role models will shape his future career.

“I have aspirations and dreams for myself, and to be at that level, you’ve got to surround yourself with people who are that level … Given the fact that I’m still quite young in the industry, it’s going to allow me to grow quite substantially. I’m excited about the growth and what I’m going to become. It’s a push for me, but a push that I’m very excited about.”

Radebe as a filmmaker

Despite having had great success with commercials in his career so far, Radebe says that he also has aspirations to work on other types of content as well. He has produced two short films; first, The Hajji in 2012 and The Hangman, which came out on 1 February this year.

“In terms of my career - I’m a filmmaker, but I focus predominantly on commercials at Egg Films. I also write and direct movies, so for me it never stops. When I’m not doing my work on commercials, I jump on to a script. I always try to keep myself busy with something. If it’s not a film, then it’s a music video, or if it’s not a music video then it’s a content piece.”

Characterised by highly emotive storylines, Radebe’s style encourages people to feel something. He says that in order for an advert to be particularly successful, they should make the viewer feel.

“If I want to make you cry and you cry, great. But, if I want to make you laugh, I'd like to make you laugh. When somebody leaves the cinema or finishes the ad, I want them to take a feeling out of it rather than taking a thought. I want to let people leave with an emotion because it lasts longer.”

Working in the commercial scene

“What got me into commercials was actually Ster-Kinekor. I won a competition at AFDA where all the campuses were competing against each other and the winning one would screen at Ster-Kinekor for an entire year. That was Thato.”

Thato won Radebe his Loerie in 2013, straight out of university. He says that he never expected that he would win, but he worked hard on it because he believed in the script, so he did whatever it took to make the piece amazing. He believes that in order to be successful, hard work is essential.

“Even if the script isn’t as creative as you would like it to be or even if the script isn’t your favourite script, I still put the same amount of effort into it. Hard work must always be consistent. Whatever that board is, whatever the script is.”

Having since won his Loerie, he says that winning such a prestigious award affirms you to be more confident in what you do and he says that he aims to win international awards as his career grows.

“So what I want next is a Cannes Lion and then, from there, to the Oscars maybe. And then go to whatever is after the Oscars. You’ve always got to better yourself as you go.”

South Africa’s commercial industry VS international counterparts

Having directed in nine countries, both in Africa and abroad, Radebe says that the local film and commercial industry does not differ from its international counterparts. He believes that South Africa’s work is of an international calibre and that we have some of the most talented creatives around.

“I think South Africa is world class and our work always has been. I’ve found that [our] crew and creatives are the best in the world. A lot of international productions come to South Africa to shoot and I think the work speaks for itself.”

Although the subject matter in these adverts may differ slightly to appeal to a local audience, Radebe says that the subject matter is more similar than it is different.

“It’s still very universal because we are all human beings, so we can relate, even if we relate differently because of our cultural backgrounds … We are very similar and we are all fighting for the same things really.”

Directing for commercials

Having worked on commercials, short films, music videos and other content pieces, Radebe says that everything has its own particular style.

“It’s easier to tell a longer story than it is to tell a shorter one. But then there are certain complexities in a long story – you’ve got to have characters, you’ve got to have arcs. So they are very different, but they are almost like brothers and sisters because they still borrow from one another.”

However, he says that working on commercials is the most difficult because you have such a limited amount of time to get your story across.

“What I love about commercials is there is an attention to detail. Everything is interrogated, everything is scrutinised, everything is considered. So what that does is it gives you a better eye for storytelling. And you’re also doing what I feel is the hardest medium of storytelling, because you’re telling a story in 30 to 60 seconds.”

For more information, visit www.eggfilms.tv.

Interested in the South African film scene? Read more in our article, Cause for optimism: a Q&A with Shukri Toefy.