Tebogo Malebogo | The Jeff Hunter Memorial Scholarship

Tebogo Malebogo | The Jeff Hunter Memorial Scholarship

Tebogo Malebogo is a South African writer-director who studied in NYU's Graduate Film Program, where he was a BAFTA Scholar and supported with the Purin Foundation Scholarship. His first film, Mthunzi, screened at Locarno Film Festival, New York Film Festival, and SXSW, and was awarded the Special Jury Prize at AFI Fest. His second film, Heaven Reaches Down to Earth, screened at New Directors/New Films, Clermont-Ferrand, Frameline, and Blackstar. His films have been curated on Le Cinéma Club, Vimeo Staff Picks, One Story Up, and MUBI.

Being awarded a BAFTA Scholarship has afforded me the opportunity to network with the talented students in their network, and attend screenings featuring work from some of my favorite filmmakers. I’m grateful to BAFTA for opening this door for us.

Tebogo is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents, Atlas Workshops, and New York University’s Hear Us initiative. In 2022, he was selected as a recipient of San Francisco Film Festival’s Rainin Screenwriting Grant for his feature film debut, currently in development. 

He is passionate about narratives that reimagine and expand on South African cinema and its possibilities.