Zamo Mkhwanazi is a South African filmmaker born in Durban and raised in Umlazi. A graduate of the University of Cape Town, Zamo is known for her lyrical, character-driven work that centers the lived experiences of everyday people caught in extraordinary circumstances. Her short film Philia marked her directorial debut in 2011. She followed this with The Call, which premiered at Clermont-Ferrand and screened at the Toronto International Film Festival. Her Cannes Directors’ Fortnight debut came with Gallo Rojo, and she was later selected for both the Toronto Talent Lab (2016) and Berlinale Talents (2017).
Her latest short film Sadla premiered at Sundance in 2020.