I’m used to being an outsider looking in. This is a normal feeling for anyone staring at the glowing light in a dark cinema. But growing up in South Africa I was more acutely aware of it. Almost all the films I saw were made in Hollywood or the UK. Ironically, South Africa is the perfect cinematic subject – full of strikingly beautiful ... Read More

I’m used to being an outsider looking in. This is a normal feeling for anyone staring at the glowing light in a dark cinema. But growing up in South Africa I was more acutely aware of it. Almost all the films I saw were made in Hollywood or the UK. Ironically, South Africa is the perfect cinematic subject – full of strikingly beautiful natural landscapes and rife with the dramatic conflict that comes from a legacy of inequality. Which is why, when I got to Hollywood and worked as head of story and character development at a major LA studio (Exodus Entertainment) I was able to write about America’s social issues with the fresh perspective of an outsider. Satire is my weapon of choice to affect change. I hope to analyze new societies through a unique lens while also making audiences laugh. But that’s not the only reason. Let’s address the elephant in the room… being a screenwriter of my generation means that when I search for work, I not only compete with my peers, but also with artificial “intelligence”, which is already being used across the industry. Even the most sophisticated A.I. is scared to touch taboo social topics. Its greedy masters forbid it from taking a perspective that’s anything other than lukewarm. And it doesn’t know how to be funny. It can regurgitate a million knock-knock jokes, but the things that truly make us laugh do so for reasons we can’t even begin to explain (which is why I’m going to stop trying to explain comedy right now). But like A.I., I never run out of ideas. My strengths are being prolific, original and collaborative. I am currently working on multiple satirical screenplays being made around the globe: a horror film commissioned by a Colombian director about a conservative politician who outlaws abortion because his wife has been impregnated the devil’s child (Reptilian), a South African short about a white couple whofind themselves victims of retributive colonization after a homeless community pops up in their backyard (Dream Vacation - based on a recent true events), and a scammer crime comedy written for Exodus Entertainment and set in 1990s Nigeria (Scam Air). Read Less