Roberta Durrant

Roberta Durrant is a creative director/producer and show runner of television and film. She has created and worked as director/ producer/ show runner on several long running, award winning series for South African broadcasters: Telenovelas: Ring of Lies (M-Net/ Mzansi Magic) Dramas: Home Affairs seasons 1,2 3 and 4. Montana, Izingane Zobaba, Sokhulu and Partners seasons 1 ,2 and 3, Shreds and Dreams seasons 1 and 2, Saints and Sinners seasons 1, 2 and 3, Z'bondiwe seasons 1, 2 and 3, Isikizi 1 & 2, Forced Love seasons 1 and 2 Sitcoms: Sgudi Snaysi, Going Up, About Us, Madam & Eve, SOS, Fishy Feshuns, Going Up Again, Mazinyo dot Q, and Stokvel. In 2017 she produced a drama series for eTV called Ambitions and a second series of the drama Sara se Geheim for M-Net(kykNET.) Roberta is the Creative Producer on Disney's Cookabout, a co-production between Penguin Films and The Walt Disney Company (UK) which has been nominated for a 2017 International Kid's Emmy and won a 2017 SAFTA Award for Best Children's Programme She has produced four feature films: Inside out, Skilpoppe, Felix and Krotoa. Two of these she directed - Felix in 2012 and Krotoa in 2016. Krotoa (https://www.facebook.com/Krotoafilm/) has won 9 international awards including Best Film at The Harlem International Film Festival and Best Film at The Montreal International Black Film festival Felix has recently won several international awards: TIFF Kids Festival Young People's Jury Award for Best Feature Film in 2014; Audience Choice Award at Durban International Film Festival in South Africa, in 2013; Lucas award for Best Film at the Lucas International Children's Film Festival in Frankfurt, Germany; The Michel award at the Hamburg Film Festival in Germany; Best Director award at the African International Film Festival in Nigeria; The Marcinek award for Best Full length film for children at the International Young Audience Film Festival Ale Kino in Poland; Teacher's Jury Special mention award at the International Young Audience Film Festival Ale Kino in Poland; Special Jury Recognition: First Feature film by a director, at the Pan African Film festival in Los Angeles, USA; Audience Award at Tumbleweeds Film festival in Utah, USA; Best Children's Feature as voted by the Children's Jury in Antwerp at the European Youth Film festival of Flanders; Writer's Guild of South Africa (WGSA) Muse Award for Best Feature Script; Youth Jury prize for Best Film at the Reel 2 Real International Film Festival for Youth in Vancouver, Canada; Best Film award at Kikife International Children's Film Festival in Schwäbisch Gmünd, Germany; Adult Jury Prize - 'Die Goldene Klappe Award' for best Picture at the Augsburg Children's Film Festival in Germany; People's Choice Award for Best Feature at the 2014 Vancouver South African Film Festival (VSAFF); The Moviezone Cinekid Youth Jury Award in Amsterdam, Netherlands; Cinekid Audience Award in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Her series Home Affairs (65 one-hour episodes has been a finalist in the drama category at the International Emmys four times between 2007 and 2010 in both the best drama category and best actress category. In 2007 Home Affairs was a finalist at Banff (Canada), and also won a special mention Rose d'Or (Switzerland). Home Affairs tells the stories of six women from separate universes searching for their true identity in South Africa. Her legal series Sokhulu and Partners won best drama and was nominated for an International Emmy Award in 2009 in the drama category. Roberta is acclaimed for her work in democracy education. To educate first time voters in 1994, she directed and produced South Africa's flagship educational comedy drama drama series, Khululeka which was broadcast from 1994 to 2009. Khululeka was first commissioned by the Matla Trust, a trust fund set up by Former President Nelson Mandela for democracy education. Roberta, together with the Center for Applied Legal Studies at Wits, also created talk show Future Imperfect, that was broadcast from 1993 to 2000 hosted by Prof Dennis Davis. Roberta also initiated and created together with the Department of Constitutional Affairs, 39 episodes of Constitutional Talk to educate South African voters about the new constitution. In 2004, she was approached by the SABC to create and produce The Roundtable, which focused on the key challenges South Africa would face over the next ten years. Roberta produced this series in consultation with the Harold Wolpe Trust. Roberta 's popular sitcoms include 'Sgudi 'Snaysi (It's Good It's Nice); Going Up, About Us; Madam & Eve; SOS; Fishy Feshuns; Going Up Again; Mazinyo dot Q and Stokvel and About Us. These productions have had several seasons (many still airing) and have won many local and international awards for best comedy including a Rose at the Golden Rose Festival in Switzerland for Madam & Eve in 2002 and an honourable mention for About Us in 2005 . Roberta has served as a member of the National Executive Committee of the Independent Producer's Organization for many years. She is a past President of Women in Film, she has been invited as a guest lecturer to both the University of Cape Town and AFDA. In 2012 she received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa for her contribution to the film and television industry. She has twice served as Co-Chair for South Africa's annual film and television awards THE SAFTAS. Roberta has a Bachelor of Arts Degree, majoring in Drama and English from University of Stellenbosch. For the first ten years of her career she acted and directed in theatre and film, firstly in South Africa and from 1977 in London where she worked with Stephen Berkoff , at the Young Vic Theatre and at The Edinburgh Festival achieving a Fringe First for Don Juan and Pieter Dirk Uys' Paradise is Closing Down which she directed.