Wits students win their second film competition despite facing finance, logistics, and resource challenges.
- Three Wit students won the Nikon ZR Filmmaker Challenge 2026.
- As part of the competition, their film was premiered in the SK IMAX Cinema in the Mall of Africa.
- The trio plans to start a joint film company.
Three Wits film and television students won the 2026 Nikon ZR Filmmaker Challenge for their short film, Threads of a Memory, which was screened as part of the competition at the SK IMAX Cinema in the Mall of Africa on March, 24.
The three, Sesethu Ledwaba, Blessing Tsebe and Hanani Mbam were partly sponsored by Nikon South Africa who provided them with a Nikon ZR camera and three lenses.
The trio told Wits Vuvuzela that they competed against some renowned filmmakers in a selection process that they saw only the best eight films being premiered at the Ster Kineker IMAX Cinema.
They had the task of outsourcing their own lighting and tripods which they got from the Wits Film and Television Department. On top of this, they funded their own transport, props, and food for their crew by doing side jobs as students, completing production in just three days. Mbam told Wits Vuvuzela that, “luckily for me I had been working at my res from January, so at least that money I was able to make made things a little easier.”
This win comes after the trio won the Italian-South African Short Film Competition in 2025 with their film, The Art of Tricolore.
Speaking to Wits Vuvuzela, Tsebe said, “It shows that we are a winning formula to some point.”
Despite the Nikon ZR Filmmaker Challenge not having a cash prize, the trio won the Nikon ZR camera, which is a high-performance professional camera.
“It’s better than money” said Tsebe who added that they plan to use it to create more of their own films as a joint film company.
FEATURED IMAGE: Photo of the three winners with film equipment. Photo: Zebrena Ralph
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