Before she knew anything else, Talia knew storytelling.

 

A filmmaker born and raised in South Africa. Her country’s rich heritage inspired her storytelling aspirations from a young age. At 18 she followed her dreams and studied Film & TV at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She has focussed her filmmaking career on true stories attempting to bring incredible, but often overlooked, stories to life. One of Talia's most notable achievements was her short film UMAMA, which was shortlisted for a student BAFTA and received the Gold Medal at the Student Academy Awards. The film's powerful subject matter garnered support from notable figures like three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr Scilla Elworthy, HRH Princess Irene of the Netherlands, and Kojo Annan, son of former UN Secretary Kofi Annan. To ensure the film's lasting impact, Talia collaborated with NGOs and social workers to create a post-viewing toolkit to help audiences dissect the difficult topics within the film.

 

Talia is currently writing and developing scripts for film and TV based on extraordinary true stories, which has afforded her the opportunity to take part in Produire au Sud writer's workshop: Jumpstart. While nourishing her love for directing in the short form world of music videos and commercials, Talia had the honour of directing the multi-part "Asiye" campaign for Jameson Selective Reserve, which highlighted the remarkable journeys towards success of four notable South Africans.

 

Her ultimate goal is to create a safe haven where audiences can find solace, a place where they feel heard, and their stories are understood. Driven by this vision, Talia relentlessly seeks to present new lenses from which to view the world.