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Press release: Longhope TV Writing residency 

It’s with great excitement that the Jakes Gerwel Foundation and M-Net Channels are announcing the chosen candidates for their joint project, the Longhope TV Writing residency and internship: Clarissa Saaiman, Manhlwa Rabenyane, Mpho Nkoana, Santhea Sinivasan and Siyabonga B. Dlamini.  

Longhope TV Writing, which is only in its second year, is already so popular that the announcement had to be delayed in order to work through the large number of applications. The selected candidates are soon to embark on the first leg of the programme, the writing residency at the Foundation’s Paulet House in KwaNojoli (Somerset East), from 4 to 17 November 2024. At Paulet House, the candidates will undergo intensive mentorship under the multitalented Tina Kruger and inspirational Muneera Sallies in order to shape their individual screenplays for television. The second leg of the programme comprises an internship based on each candidate’s particular qualities and aptitudes within M-Net Channels.  

Read what last year’s candidates said about how the Longhope TV Writing programme changed and shaped them: Niël Coetzee; Gita Fourie; Sindisa Mazisa

Read about this year’s candidates below. 

Clarissa Saaiman

Clarissa Saaiman is a 24-year-old budding actress and aspiring writer. She completed her BA degree in drama and theatre studies at Stellenbosch University and, apart from the stage writing she has done as part of her studies, she made use of her student years to write short performance pieces for her hostels. Her scripts for Vensters 2020 and Vensters 2021 both took second place and her script for Mollasesêr 2021 was chosen as best script. Professional highlights since her graduation include working on the award-winning stage production Op hierie dag with Neil Coppen as part of the ongoing Karoo Kaarte Project at the KKNK, starring in a couple of commercials currently flighting in various European countries, and starring in the Bollywood biopic Srikanth that is available on Netflix. Clarissa’s voice also regularly features in the dubbed Turkish series showing on eTV and eExtra. Clarissa will be seen in the upcoming South African film Black burns fast, which is currently in post-production and due for release in 2025. 

Manhlwa Rabenyane

Manhlwa Rabenyane is a creator, writer and producer from Limpopo, now based in Gauteng. Manhlwa obtained her BA in communication studies from the University of Johannesburg. From the moment she realised that her qualification could open a side door to embarking on film studies, she set her mind to absorbing everything she could learn about the industry as quickly as possible. With a keen sense for telling stories that connect with her target audience, Manhlwa has made an instant impact on the South African film industry through Tichere ya morutwana (“The trainee teacher”), a film she wrote and created especially for television as a medium and that was aired on Mzansi Bioskop earlier this year as part of the Young Bloods Movie Festival. Manhlwa has developed her skills through various programmes, including Story Oasis (funded by the National Film and Video Foundation) and an internship at Urban Brew Studios. She has also founded her own production company, Vintage Pictures. It is with great excitement that she is looking forward to the Longhope TV Writing residency at Paulet House and an internship at M-Net Channels to continue with her passion. 

Mpho Nkoana

Mpho Nkoana is a passionate writer and an emerging talent in the film industry. During his three-year diploma in motion picture production at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), he wrote a short thriller called Final girl, which earned him the distinction of best achievement in scriptwriting at the TUT Film Awards. He is currently registered for an advanced diploma in motion picture production with a focus on screenwriting, also at TUT. Having worked in production and screenwriting for different companies, such as Ponelopele Pictures and Eyes on Lens Films, Mpho is eager to hone his writing skills through the Longhope TV Writing programme presented by the Jakes Gerwel Foundation and M-Net Channels. He is looking forward to collaborating with fellow creatives and aims to become one of South Africa’s leading showrunners, bringing compelling stories to life on screen. 

Santhea Sinivasan

Santhea Sinivasan is an emerging writer with a focus on reflective nostalgic historical fiction. In 2019, she self-produced, wrote and directed various short films, among which a documentary titled This is not another rape poem focusing on the outcry against the gender-based violence that marked that year. In 2022, she wrote a feature-length screenplay for her honours in film and television studies and graduated with distinction from the University of Cape Town. Building on that draft, Santhea further conceptualised Hope & other drugs under the guidance of Mokopi Shale as part of Story Oasis’s 2024 trajectory training programme intake. Santhea describes the film as a coming-of-age drama set during the time of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings. She is also the writer of the short film A state of fantasy that is in the process of being developed in collaboration with Kinoburo Films. This film with its evocative title is a fictionalised account of a woman’s rumoured love affair with Hendrik Verwoerd’s assassin. Santhea is particularly interested in how the past shapes the present and she seeks to represent the resulting emotional complexities on screen to encourage collective healing. 

Siyabonga B. Dlamini

Siyabonga B. Dlamini is an enterprising South African writer, director and designer. Already at the age of 16 he established his own streetwear clothing brand, GxTH Inc, targeted at underprivileged action sports enthusiasts from the townships with the aim of promoting access to safe and healthy environments for all. He obtained his BA degree in screenwriting and directing at AFDA, Johannesburg in 2021, writing and directing more than six short films for his studies. Siyabonga has just completed shooting his first independently produced short film exploring how our environment can influence our choices. Set in a township infested by crime and poverty, The infest follows a naive law graduate who is trying to solve a femicide without being sucked in by the horrors of the case. With this movie in the post-production phase and a release date for next year, Siyabonga has already embarked on developing his next short script that he describes as a “slasher-horror, loosely based on our history as South Africans”. Siyabonga is looking forward to the Longhope TV Writing residency to develop writing skills adapted to television as a medium and to learn the ropes first-hand from recognised industry experts. 

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