Xolani Thandikaya Qubeka (born 26 March 1979), professionally known as Jahmil X.T Qubeka, is a South African

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

, and producer. He has mostly worked on

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

crime In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a State (polity), state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definit ...

, and

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

films that tell the story of post-apartheid South Africa, and has received multiple accolades, including

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

at the 15th edition of the

Africa Movie Academy Awards The Africa Movie Academy Awards, popularly known as AMAA and The AMA Awards, is presented annually to recognize excellence among professionals working in, or non-African professionals who have contributed to, the African film industry. It was fou ...

for '' Sew the Winter to My Skin''.

Personal life

Qubeka was born in a

Xhosa Xhosa may refer to: * Xhosa people, a nation, and ethnic group, who live in south-central and southeasterly region of South Africa * Xhosa language, one of the 11 official languages of South Africa, principally spoken by the Xhosa people See als ...

family in what used to be the nominally

independent state Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

Ciskei Ciskei (, or ) was a Bantustan for the Xhosa people-located in the southeast of South Africa. It covered an area of , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian O ...

. Although he was born during the

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

era, he grew up in a relatively elite Black neighborhood, and stated that he "doesn’t have the weight of apartheid on his shoulders." He describes his father as a cinephile who constantly watched movies. He states that

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

and

Fritz Lang Friedrich Christian Anton Lang (; December 5, 1890 – August 2, 1976), known as Fritz Lang, was an Austrian film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in Germany and later the United States.Obituary ''Variety'', August 4, 1976, p. 6 ...

are among his biggest cinematic influences, but that he also enjoys comedy and is a huge fan of American comedian

Eddie Murphy Edward Regan Murphy (born April 3, 1961) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and singer. He rose to fame on the sketch comedy show ''Saturday Night Live'', for which he was a regular cast member from 1980 to 1984. Murphy has als ...

. He also stated that the 1982 Murphy-starring 48 Hrs. is one of his favorite films.

Cinematic career

Qubeka's 2013 film ''

Of Good Report ''Of Good Report'' is a 2013 South African thriller film directed by Jahmil X.T. Qubeka. The film had Mothusi Magano and Petronella Tshuma in lead roles. At the 10th Africa Movie Academy Awards, it received the most nominations and awards, a ...

'' was originally chosen to open the

Durban International Film Festival The Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa. Founded in 1979 by Teddy Sarkin and Ros Sarkin, it is the oldest and largest film festival in Africa and ...

, but was announced that it was banned by the National Film and Video Foundation of South Africa for containing an "unethical" romance between a

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

and a

student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementar ...

, constituting what the board said was "

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a chi ...

". This decision was later overturned after an appeal by the producers of the film. ''Of Good Report'' later won the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Film The Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Film is an annual merit by the Africa Film Academy to recognise the best African films of the preceding year. It was known as the ''Best Picture'' award from 2005 to 2011. References {{Africa Movie Acade ...

. He won the award for

for his action thriller Sew the Winter to My Skin at the 15th Africa Movie Academy Awards that were held in

Lagos Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Speaking on his 2019 film ''

Knuckle City ''Knuckle City'' is a 2019 South African crime sports film written and directed by Jahmil X.T. Qubeka. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. It was selected as the South Africa ...

'', Qubeka stated that he looked forward to mixing

genres Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other for ...

on his future film projects, and also spoke about the "

toxic masculinity Toxic masculinity is a set of certain male behaviors associated with harm to society and men themselves. Traditional stereotypes of men as socially dominant, along with related traits such as misogyny and homophobia, can be considered "toxic" d ...

" that exists in

South African culture South Africa is known for its ethnic and cultural diversity. Amongst black South Africans, a substantial number of rural inhabitants lead largely impoverished lives. Almost all South Africans speak English to some degree of proficiency, in add ...

. In 2022, Qubeka released two television series. His epic fantasy series '' Blood Psalms'' launched on

Showmax Showmax is an online subscription video on demand (SVOD) service which launched in South Africa on 19 August 2015. Showmax uses a localisation strategy to take on established video on demand competitors with a focus on local content and partner ...

in September and billed as its biggest and most ambitious production to date. It stars South African

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

Thando Thabethe, Sello Maake Ka Ncube and

Warren Masemola Montloana Warren Masemola (born 18 May 1983) is a South African actor popularly known for portraying Lentswe Mokethi on the soap opera '' Scandal!''. Life and career Early life and education Montloana Warren Masemola born May 18, 1983, in G ...

, and tells the story of an African queen battling a world-ending

prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...

to navigate her people through

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and never-ending wars. In November, his ''Kings of Queenstown, a'' Netflix original series about a young soccer prodigy, was released. As of November 2022, he is in pre-production on the supernatural thriller ''The White Devil,'' based on a book by the same name.

Reception

Guy Lodge for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' praised Qubeka's unique attempts of telling post-apartheid South Africa's story in film making that is not solely based on

racial segregation Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...

, but

violence Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or Power (social and p ...

and

patriarchal Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of Dominance hierarchy, dominance and Social privilege, privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical Anthropology, anthropological term for families or clans controll ...

sexuality Human sexuality is the way people experience and express themselves sexually. This involves biological, psychological, physical, erotic, emotional, social, or spiritual feelings and behaviors. Because it is a broad term, which has varied ...

. The adoption of

black and white Black-and-white (B&W or B/W) images combine black and white in a continuous spectrum, producing a range of shades of grey. Media The history of various visual media began with black and white, and as technology improved, altered to color. ...

sequence of images, as opposed to colored, was also highlighted as adding a positive uniqueness to the film ''Of Good Report''. He summarized its review by stating, "Jahmil X.T. Qubeka's striking but grisly feature swerves wildly from obsessive student-teacher romance into splattering horror."

Filmography

* 2006: ''Shogun Khumalo Is Dying!'' (short) * 2010: ''

A Small Town Called Descent A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' * 2013: ''

'' * 2018: '' Sew the Winter to My Skin'' * 2019: ''

'' * 2022: ''You're My Favourite Place'' * 2022: ''Blood Psalms''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Qubeka, Jahmil X.T. Living people South African film directors South African screenwriters Xhosa people People from Mdantsane 1979 births Best Director Africa Movie Academy Award winners People from the Eastern Cape