Film & Media
30
Chopped and Screwed (Pty) Ltd
Website
When Kuda Jemba was eight, the poster of the first Fast and Furious movie caught his eye and he snuck into the cinema.
“Seeing those cars racing with the neon lights underneath and the adrenaline from the nitrous oxide changed the trajectory of my life and I knew that whatever they were doing to bring that movie to the big screen was something I wanted to be involved in,” he says.
Now 30, and a director, writer and editor for Chopped and Screwed, Kuda manages a film’s creative vision through the whole process from the inception of an idea to its completion and final delivery. He is involved in all stages of the filmmaking process from coming up with the concept and guiding the actors and technical crew to perform and capture the vision for the screen, to working with editors, colourists, and sound and music departments to assemble the project.
Kuda has directed music videos for some of South Africa’s biggest artists — such as Amanda Black, K.O, Bigstar Johnson, Ma-E, Dj Ganyani, and DJ Switch — and worked with big brands such as MTV Base, Cotton Fest, Capitec and Mzansi Magic. Last year, he directed a reality show, Life With Kelly Khumalo.
I have got no formal qualifications, I dropped out during my second year at Unisa while studying accounting.
- Directed music videos for some of the biggest acts in South Africa including Amanda Black, K.O, Bigstar Johnson, Ma-E, Dj Ganyani, and Dj Switch but one music video I hold dear to my heart is Nalingi by Manu Worldstar because it felt like my whole community came together to help me bring this vision to life.
- Directing a reality show for one of Africa’s biggest musicians Kelly Khumalo in 2022.
- Directing my first television commercial in 2022 for Capitec and MtvBase.
- Editing a music video for one of the biggest songs to come out of South Africa in 2022, Sete by K.O
In June 2001, my father dropped me off at the cinema to watch an age-appropriate film but I never made it to that specific film, the film cover of the very first Fast and Furious caught my eye and I snuck into the cinema, and seeing those cars racing with the neon lights underneath and the whole adrenaline from the nitrous oxide changed the whole trajectory of my life and I knew that whatever they were doing to bring that movie to the big screen is something I want to be involved in.
Do not just invest monetary value, also invest in your physical and emotional well-being, learn to let things go and everything is going to be fine.
Improved economic conditions, greater accessibility to job opportunities, eradication of Load shedding, and superior maintenance of the country’s infrastructure.