Personal Information

Location

Los Angeles

Biography

Thabo was born and raised in South Africa and witnessed the end of Apartheid while attending High School in Cape Town. He was fortunate enough to attend New York University where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Literature and History. During that time, he studied in Italy and received a Dean’s Research Grant to make a documentary in Khayalitsha, South Africa. Before entering film school, Thabo spent three years in the professional world, working as a paralegal, a freelance photographer, videographer, and as a teacher.

Thabo was accepted into the highly competitive Graduate Film Directing Program at UCLA in 2003. During his time there, Thabo shot three short films, a television pilot, three documentaries, and wrote a feature screenplay. He received the Motion Picture Association of America Award and the Carl David Memorial Fellowship for his first work - The Recorder – a narrative short that premiered at Outfest in 2005.

For his documentary, South Africa’s New Apartheid, Thabo received the award for Best Documentary at the UCLA Film Festival in June 2006 in addition to the Mary Pickford Award. Following that, Thabo received the prestigious Collin Higgins Film Director’s Screenplay Award to make his thesis film, JOBURG, in South Africa. In 2007, Thabo received a Multicultural Motion Picture Association of America Diversity Award at a Pre-Oscar luncheon and was awarded a post-production grant from the Caucus Foundation for Television Writers, Producers, and Directors.

JOBURG was selected by an industry panel headed by Geoff Gilmore of the Sundance Film Festival to play in UCLA’s highly selective “Director’s Spotlight” at the DGA. JOBURG was subsequently screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival and premiered at the 2007 Telluride Film Festival.

Additionally, Thabo’s work as a photographer and cinematographer have been used in commercials and have appeared in Rolling Stone magazine, Daily News, Gallery 128 in New York, and the Tribeca Film Festival. Thabo currently teaches at The Los Angeles Film School and works as a freelance director and videographer/cinematographer.

IMDB Page

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2034723/

Caucus Film

Film Title

Joburg

Film Website

http://www.joburgthemovie.com

Film Information & Synopsis

A young newspaper vendor struggles to care for his brother. A pregnant woman discovers a terrible secret about her fiance. At the height of their desperation, these two worlds collide in a life-altering event. 22min, Super16mm.

Festival Experience

Los Angeles Film Festival
Telluride Film Festival
Starz Denver Film Festival
Santa Fe Film Festival
Sedona International Film Festival
Brooklyn International Film Festival
Riverside International Film Festival
Durban International Film Festival
Apollo Film Festival (South Africa)
1 Reel Film Festival (Bumbershoot)

History

Member for

2 years 44 weeks

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