Swazi Observer

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NTOBEKO SHINES AT SAFTAS

By SIYABONGA NSIBANDE | 2024-10-30

cinematographer and director of photography Ntobeko Dlamini won big at the South African Film and TV Awards (SAFTAs).

The South African based artist last Saturday won under the ‘Best Achievement In Cinematography – Telenovela’ category for his work on a South African series titled ‘Outlaws’, through famous production house Tshedza Pictures.

His win comes after he was inducted into South African Society of Cinematographers in 2020.

Having grand accolades over the time spent in film and TV, Dlamini continues to collect trophies for his creative and artist work behind the lens.

This was his third SAFTA win, as he won one in 2018 under the ‘Best Achievement in Cinematography’, while also winning in the same category for his work on a series titled ‘The Republic’ in 2020 as well.

‘Outlaws’, during this year’s SAFTAs won the second most awards with eight prizes in total, only second to ‘Shaka iLembe’, which took home 12 awards at the 18th edition of the SAFTAs.

Dlamini is well respected in the South African production industry, known for his work on award-winning series such as The River, Adulting, Youngins, Omen, Tsha Tsha, It’s For Life, and now Outlaws, working mostly as a cinematographer and director of photography on all these productions.

He majored in cinematography and earned a BA in Motion Medium Picture from a tertiary institution, formerly known as Africa Film Drama Art (AFDA) in 2004. Since then, he has produced documentaries, music videos, short films, TV dramas, telenovelas and public service announcements.

He also won the M-Net Best Student Award during his honours year at his former university (AFDA).

Additionally, he taught cinematography and film theory to first and second year students while he was a lecturer at AFDA.

“My work is inspired by passion, integrity and respect for my craft, and an insatiable appetite for excellence in every project that I get involved in. Every shot that I film has to be a work of art in terms of lighting and composition, but over and above that my cinematography has to serve the story and character journey,” he shared with his former university, after achieving his accolades.

Proud

Local film enthusiast and professional Lusolotja Ginindza shared that he was proud of Dlamini and his work over the years.

He said he was someone to look up to and wished to teach Emaswati about Dlamini and his work to help further and inspire the industry as he had followed his career since it began.

“Dlamini is a serious icon.

He has worked diligently, collecting awards, receiving nominations and being celebrated in South Africa for his visual creativity. I wish for Emaswati to learn about Dlamini and people like him because we have legends that we need to acknowledge and celebrate as they do amazing things in this world,” said the production expert.

Used to working behind the scenes and assisting productions around the country, Ginindza said Dlamini was one of the people who inspired him as he showed dedication and love for the field of film and production.

He stated that Dlamini was someone who was always willing to learn and attempt new things in photography and cinematography, drawing inspirations from master cinematographers such as Conrad Hall, Roger Deakins, Janusz Kaminski, Robert Richardson, Rodrigo Prieto, Emmanuel Lubezki and Matthew Libatique.

Dlamini is also said to be inspired by directors such as Antoine Fuqua, Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, Steve McQueen, Steven Spielberg, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Spike Jonze, Dave Meyers and Michel Gondry.

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