It’s with great excitement that the Jakes Gerwel Foundation and M-Net Channels announce their chosen candidates for the Longhope TV Writing residency!
Jesse Brown, Keenan Martin, Madelize de Lange, Marilise Esther van Wyk and Simpiwe Fiddy Ngcobo will be joining their mentors, Tina Kruger, Carla-Marie Myburgh and Muneera Sallies (who will be joining remotely), from 10 to 23 November 2025 at Paulet House in KwaNojoli for a practical and intensive mentoring programme.
Congratulations to our candidates! May the time you spend at our house of stories be a time of growth and inspiration. We look forward to following your TV writing projects closely.
Dit is met groot opgewondenheid dat die Jakes Gerwel Stigting en M-Net Kanale hul gekose kandidate vir die Longhope TV-skryf residensie aankondig.
Jesse Brown, Keenan Martin, Madelize de Lange, Marilise Esther van Wyk en Simpiwe Fiddy Ngcobo sal onder leiding van Tina Kruger, Carla-Marie Myburgh en Muneera Sallies (wie aanlyn sal inskakel), van 10 tot 23 November 2025 by Paulet House in KwaNojoli ’n praktiese en intensiewe mentorskapsprogram bywoon.
Baie geluk aan ons kandidate! Mag die tyd wat julle deurbring by ons huis van stories ’n tyd van groei en inspirasie wees. Ons sien daarna uit om julle TV-skryfprojekte te volg.
Capetonian Jesse Brown, a freelance video editor, director and writer, is passionate about exploring local characters and stories through a cinematic medium. He holds an Honours degree in Screenwriting and an MA in Creative Writing from the University of Cape Town.
Jesse has been on the offline editing teams for children’s TV shows such as Supa Strikas: Rookie Season and The Lembwas (2025), for which he also co-wrote episode two.
Jesse’s short film debut, Dream Dinner, which he wrote and directed, was released in 2024. His directorial debut, Finding Optel, premiered at this year’s Silwerskermfees.
Keenan Martin obtained a BA in Film and Television from City Varsity, Cape Town, with a focus on scriptwriting.
He focuses on creating work that tells community-driven narratives that capture the idiosyncrasies of the world of story and its ensemble of characters.
Madelize de Lange is an all-round creative who flourishes in a variety of roles. She has a BA Honours degree in Film and Television from the University of the Witwatersrand and experience as a corporate video editor.
She recently completed internships with The Writers’ Guild of South Africa and the MultiChoice Talent Factory, where she spent the past year gaining practical, hands-on training in filmmaking.
She is currently working as a junior researcher on Season 12 of Prontuit with Idea Candy, and is looking to further her skills and experience as a writer.
Marilise van Wyk is an actor turned aspiring screenwriter with a deep love for stories that linger. After eight years on stage, she’s learned how to listen between the lines, live inside a character’s truth and find magic in a well-crafted script. Now, she’s ready for her next chapter: writing bold, grounded stories.
Equipped with degrees in law and the arts, Marilise brings both curiosity and discipline to her creative work. Telling stories that reflect the heart and complexity of South African life, she’s drawn to characters who feel messy, honest, and alive.
Simphiwe ‘Fiddy’ Ngcobo is a bold emerging screenwriter and filmmaker with roots in theatre, television and film. A graduate of the MultiChoice Talent Factory, Simphiwe has written for Uzalo, South Africa’s most-watched telenovela, and recently completed his directorial debut on Mzansi Magic’s upcoming Gogo’s Heist.
Simphiwe, who holds a BA Honours in Motion Picture (AFDA), fuses grounded realism with emotional and spiritual nuance – telling African stories that resonate with depth and urgency. His voice is fresh, fearless, and unafraid to confront complex truths – making him a distinctive new talent in African storytelling.
Find out more about the Longhope TV Writing residency, as well as our other annual residencies, here: https://jgf.org.za/residencies/
