South Africa

Ntshaveni Wa Luruli was born in 1955 in Johannesburg, South Africa. After completing a BA in Dramatic Arts at the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, Ntshaveni went on to study a Masters of Fine Arts in Screenwriting and Directing at Columbia University, USA under the tutorship of Milos Forman. Winning the Paramount Pictures Writing Award in 1989 with Rambani, Wa Luruli then worked as Assistant Director to Spike Lee on features including Malcolm X and Jungle Fever. He wrote The Rainbow Calabash, a feature-length film for SABC in 1994 and was Head Writer for a 26 episode drama series, Success (Kgatelopele) for SABC/CCV in 1995. The films he directed include Chikin Biznis: The Whole Story! in 1998 for M-Net South Africa, The Wooden Camera (2003) which won the Crystal Bear at the Berlinale for Best Youth film, and Elelwani (2012). Ntshaveni Wa Luruli also lectured in Screenwriting at the Film and Television School of Dramatic Arts at the University of Witwatersrand.

Filmography

Soul City (1994)
Chikin Biznis: The Whole Story! (1998)
The Wooden Camera (2003)
Elelwani (2012)