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1-50 of 62
- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Tandi Wright
Tandi was born in Zambia to New Zealand parents Vernon Wright and Dinah Priestley. She grew up in Wellington (New Zealand) and attended Wellington High School and Victoria University of Wellington. In 1994 he graduated from Toi Whakaari: New Zealand Drama School with a degree in acting. Her father, Vernon Wright, is a former journalist for "The Listener" living in Zambia, and her mother Dinah is a writer and actress in Wellington. Wright has two sisters, Nikki (a political advisor to the DOC) and Justine (a film editor).
From 1995 to 2000, she appeared as nurse Caroline Buxton in Shortland Street (1992). Other television roles include Crash Palace (2001), Power Rangers S.P.D. (2005), Seven Periods with Mr Gormsby (2005), The Lost Children (2006), Nothing Trivial (2011), The Returned (2015) and Creamerie (2021).
As for films, it is worth mentioning Black Sheep (2006), Out of the Blue (2006), Jack the Giant Slayer (2013), The Rehearsal (2016), the adventure comedy Love and Monsters (2020) or the critically and public acclaimed horror film Pearl (2022) directed by Ti West, where she plays the role of Mia Goth's mother.- Writer
- Director
- Actress
Directors born in Zambia and willing to bear witness on this country are something of a rarity. This is nonetheless the case of Rungano Nyoni, a young woman whose native town is Lusaka although she did not stay there long. She was indeed still a little girl when she emigrated to Great Britain with her parents. It is in Wales that Rongano actually grew up and from Birmingham University that she graduated... only to study drama at the London University of Arts. But an actress she was not destined to be (she played in only three films), as she proved thereafter. More interested in directing and writing (doesn't Rungano mean 'story-telling'), she turned to film making from 2009 on. The five shorts that bear her signature were selected in many festivals throughout the world and were multi-awarded. Two of them were filmed in her native Zambia, which is also the setting of her excellent first feature "I Am Not a Witch" (2017), where she narrates, in a half-quizzical half-poetic tone, the misadventures of a nine-year girl arbitrarily accused of being a witch. An internationally acclaimed work that reveals Nyoni's talent to a wide audience while at the same time bringing little known Zambia to the fore.- Zamba was an orphaned African lion cub owned by Ralph Helfer, an exotic animal trainer who owned a ranch called "Nature's Haven: Wild Animal Rentals Co," in Van Nuys, California that he opened in 1955.
The cub was named after the Zambezi River in Zambia, where he was found, almost near death by two of Ralph's friends Jack and Brini who were on a three-week Safari photographing the wildlife in Africa.
Brini really got attached to Zamba while they were nursing him back to health but they both knew their good friend Ralph would not only be the perfect person to raise Zamba but he had the property to do it when they brought him back to America.
The animal trainers of Hollywood in that time used cruel treatment in the training of their wild exotic animals in the entertainment industry.
The trainers brought them in with cages, used the fear and intimidation of whips, guns and chairs to beat their animals into control.
Even as a child Ralph pledged his life to a crusade against animal cruelty.
Ralph was going to raise Zamba as a member of the family; using his own animal training philosophy he called "Affection Training," emphasizing love, patience, understanding and respect.
Zamba grew into a magnificent lion that Ralph formed a special bond with and he trusted him completely. Because of Zamba's good nature and gentle disposition he became very well known in the entertainment world so many people called Ralph to make appearances with Zamba.
Ralph brought Zamba to help in many charitable organizations to raise funds many of them involved children and they were happy to help schools for orphans, the children's wards at various hospitals, the March of Dimes and the Red Cross, and many more. He also visited homes for the sick, old, and infirm and even attended Christmas parties. They were not above doing things for the less fortunate or doing things for the less fortunate or giving to the needy. They even rode in the "Tournament of Roses Parade" on a very large float that represented the days of the Roman Olympics. With a Colosseum, Circus Maximus and Gladiators.
Ralph brought Zamba on many different movies and television series including the The Pet Set (1971) Hosted by their Dear friend Betty White.
In the spring of 1960 Twentieth Century-Fox studio called Ralph about the need of a lion to work with a child actress Pamela Franklin for Zamba's first staring role in the movie The Lion (1962).
When Ralph first introduced Zamba to Pamela, a vibrant bright little lady, she just captured his heart immediately and they got along famously. Pam even helped Ralph take care of Zamba during all their time in Nairobi, Kenya while shooting the movie, which took a year to complete because of bad rain.
When Ralph returned to the States in 1962 he married Toni Ringo (Toni Helfer) and they gave birth to a beautiful daughter Tana Helfer, which Ralph said was, and is, one of the greatest blessings God has bestowed on me! Tana was named after a river in Kenya, who from the very beginning had a special relationship with Zamba.
Soon because of the Antelope Valley Freeway Ralph and Toni's property was cut in half so they had to relocate to Soledad Canyon where they bought 600 acres of land to build their new ranch and they decided to name it "Africa U.S.A" because of the large number of African animals that were being filmed.
Ralph's own relationship with Zamba was so close and so trusting that he never thought twice about bringing his daughter around him. Zamba knew lots of baby animals, and he always treated Tana with the utmost gentleness and respect. He'd never lick her skin, for instance, only her clothes, as if he knew that his rough tongue would hurt her. And his claws were never out when he was anywhere near her. Zamba was not only Tana's God Father, but Guardian and constant companion as well.
Ralph's heart was filled with happiness to see Tana curled up against Zamba; it was like beauty and the beast, except to him they were both beautiful.
Tana was probably one of the few children in the world who had a lion around as other kids had a family dog and it was not uncommon to see her riding on Zamba's back around the ranch.
On Zamba's eighteenth birthday he passed away peacefully on the "Gentle Jungle" ranch in Colton, California and Ralph drove him to the far end of his ranch and buried him next to their favorite tree they called Old Lady.
An enormous thunderstorm hit their ranch soon after Zamba died, and a bolt of lightning hit Old Lady, splitting her in half. She also had a good life and it was time for her to go as well. - Actress
- Producer
- Director
An Ivy League graduate with a degree in Diplomatic History, Julia was born in Zambia, spent her early childhood in Africa, and grew up in Paris before finishing high school in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. Her mother, a stage actress herself in Paris in her youth, was originally from Turkey. Her father, a career diplomat with the United Nations, is from Norway and along with most of Julia's immediate family, lives in Europe.- Orla was born in Zambia to Irish parents and at the age of 5 moved back to Ireland where her mother made sure she did every conceivable activity from studying three instruments to ballet and gymnastics.
At 13 she discovered drama school and at 16 performed in her first professional theatre performance 'Adult Child/ Dead Child'.
After school, extensive traveling and minor acting roles Orla undertook a degree in film & broadcasting. During her studies she gained her first regular role as Sinead Kelly in the award winning television show 'The Clinic'. Shortly after she worked on ITVs 'Malice Aforethought' for director David Blair and her first Irish feature film 'The Front Line' for director David Gleeson.
Soon after graduating she worked on British medical drama 'Casualty' and Daniel Barbers 'Harry Brown', with Michael Caine, Emily Mortimer and Charlie Creed-Miles. Her most recent work includes 'Case Histories' for BBC 1 with Jason Isaacs and HBO/SKYs 'Strike Back II' with Liam Cunningham.
Orla believes that versatility is a necessity for an actor. 'You can train all you want but experience in different areas of work and life keeps your mind educated and active. It provides you with the necessary life resources to dip into. An actor can have a lot of spare time to kill ...so use it' - Composer
- Music Department
- Producer
Mutt Lange was born on 11 November 1948 in Mufilira, Zambia. He is a composer and producer, known for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Don Juan DeMarco (1994) and The Three Musketeers (1993).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Sebastian Thiel is a director, producer and writer. Born in Zambia and raised in London, this has provided the inspiration for much of his work. At 17 Sebastian founded Upshot Entertainment, and his self-produced work has since amassed over 13 million views on YouTube.
Sebastian made his TV debut with his hard-hitting Documentary 'Trap Town' in 2014 and has since gone on to create BBC 3 comedy-drama 'Just a Couple', direct the pilot episode of Emmy and BAFTA nominated 'Dreaming Whilst Black', ITV and Amazon Prime series 'Riches' and most recently as director on Netflix series 'Supacell'.
Under subset of Upshot Entertainment, Upshot Reels, Sebastian produces professional and dynamic monologue reels for actors, including Letitia Wright & Damson Idris.
Seb has featured on many watch lists including BBC's Hotlist for New Talent, unveiled by Idris Elba & Tony Hall, Evening Standard's Top 25 Under 25 most influential Londoners and Broadcast Magazine's Hot Shots.- Wilbur Smith was born on 9 January 1933 in Broken Hill, Northern Rhodesia (now Kabwe, Zambia). He was a writer, known for Dark of the Sun (1968), Shout at the Devil (1976) and Gold (1974). He was married to Mokhiniso Rakhimova, Danielle Thomas, Jewell Slabbert and Anne Rennie. He died on 13 November 2021 in Cape Town, South Africa.
- Actress
- Music Department
Stevie Lange was born in Mufulira, Copperbelt, Zambia. She is known for Living Apart Together (1982), Artists United for Nature: Yes We Can (1989) and The Sweet: Lettres d'amour (1978). She was previously married to Mutt Lange.- Thomas Douglas was born on 29 October 1972 in Lusaka, Zambia. He is an actor, known for Sew Torn (2024), Maxton Hall: The World Between Us (2024) and The Billion Dollar Code (2021).
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Writer
Dennis Bots was born on 11 June 1974 in Kitwe, Zambia. He is a director and assistant director, known for Cool Kids Don't Cry (2012), Betrayal (2023) and Secrets of War (2014).- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Brian is the founder and Producer at Victoria-Falls Entertainment, an independent film and television production company based in Cardiff. Founded in 2015, to develop, produce and co-produce original and ground-breaking projects that champions underrepresented creatives and new voices on screen and behind the scenes.
A member of UK Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television (PACT).
Brian attended the Arts University Bournemouth formerly known as Arts Institute at Bournemouth where he studied BA (Hons) in Film Production and Master of Arts in Film Producing & Business Entrepreneurship at the Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries known as University of South Wales.- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Gloria Huwiler was born in Lusaka, Zambia to a Swiss German father and Zambian mother. Raised in Zambia and Namibia, Gloria left to pursue acting training at Oxford School of Drama (OSD) after high school. After completing the foundation course at OSD, she read International Relations at Brown University. There she participated in several theatrical productions, and continued to study acting and writing. She has since worked in theatre and film in New York, Los Angeles and London.- Director
- Writer
- Editor
Clement Kangwa, commonly known as Clemy Zm, is a Zambian entrepreneur and CEO of Undying Dreams, a luxury brand based in Lusaka.
Founded in 2022, Undying Dreams is a luxury street-wear label fueled by Clemy Zm's spark of passion, ignited in his youth.
His innovative designs and keen business acumen have established him as a prominent fashion industry figure, renowned for cutting-edge style and entrepreneurial excellence.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
Manish Patel is one of the leading lights in Britain's independent cinema movement. His films have been selected for the Cannes Film Festival, Portobello Film Festival, Mumbai Film Festival, Bite The Mango Film Festival and more. Won 'Best Film Award' for 'Cash and Curry' at Portobello Film Festival. He is also a television documentary film maker specializing in Healthcare and Business related themes. Several of his documentaries have been screened on Sky and Freesat in the UK and Ireland.- Kamaal Ibrahim was born on 26 March 2002 in Zambia. He is an actor, known for Tikula (2022) and Makofi (2021).
- Peter Dickinson was born on 16 December 1927 in Livingstone, Northern Rhodesia [now Zambia]. He was a writer, known for Mandog (1972), Marty (1968) and The Gift (1990). He was married to Robin McKinley and Mary Rose Barnard. He died on 16 December 2015 in Winchester, Hampshire, England, UK.
- Actress
- Composer
- Writer
Karen Mukupa was born in 1973 in Zambia. She is an actress and composer, known for Empire (2023), Natasja (2008) and Alting kan du få (2010).- Born in Ndola, on the Zambian Copperbelt, Bryan's family moved to Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, in 1970 where he grew up. Bryan is the second son of Gordon and Cecily MacKenzie. He attended Vainona High School in Harare from 1976 to 1981, and completed "A" levels at Ellis Robins High in 1982. In 1983 he became a member of the nation's premier amateur theatre society, "The Repertory Players." For ten years Bryan participated in a wide range of stage productions of drama and comedy. Credits include "A Midsummer Night's Dream", "The Merchant of Venice", "A Small Family Business", and a number of popular Alan Ayckborn farces. In 1987 Bryan debuted with a bit part in film in the TV Drama "Mandela", Directed by Philip Saville, and starring Danny Glover, which was shot in Harare. In 2000 Bryan moved to Botswana, where he directed and acted in "Run for your wife," at the Capital Players where he is now the President.
- Ene Mwadi was born on 1 December 1997 in Zambia. He is an actor, known for Grotesque 2 (2024) and I'm Haunted 3 (2024).
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Rozalla was born on 18 March 1964 in Ndola, Zambia. She is an actress, known for Carlito's Way (1993), Unlawful Entry (1992) and Dirty Weekend (1993). She has been married to Alan Robert Brydon since 1997.- Lukwesa Burak was born in 1974 in Zambia. She is an actress, known for Kingsman: The Secret Service (2014), BBC News - Business Today (2024) and Murnaghan (2011).
- Actor
- Art Department
- Production Designer
Peter Cazalet was born on 9 February 1934 in Kitwe, Zambia. He is an actor and production designer, known for The Game Plan (2007), Follow That Rainbow (1979) and Houseparty (1964).- Colin Cowie was born on 3 January 1962 in Kitwe, Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland (now Kitwe, Zambia). He is a producer, known for Jail Caesar (2012), Race to the Altar (2003) and Everyday Elegance with Colin Cowie (1999).
- Ian Colin was born on 16 May 1912 in Livingstone, Zambia. He was an actor, known for The Quatermass Experiment (1953), It's Never Too Late to Mend (1937) and Wings Over Africa (1936). He was married to June Moir. He died on 20 February 1987 in Jávea, Alicante, Spain.