3 days ago
Palesa Buyeye named one of Mail & Guardian's Top 200 Young South Africans in film and media
Rising filmmaker Palesa Buyeye has been honoured as one of the Mail & Guardian's Top 200 Young South Africans for 2025 in the Film and Media category.
The awards took place on August 8 at the Kalahari Waterfront in Nandoni, Thohoyandou, bringing together some of the country's most inspiring young trailblazers.
Speaking to TshisaLIVE, Palesa shared her gratitude for the recognition: 'I feel immensely grateful being listed as a winner among amazing storytellers in film and media who I look up to. People such as Mbali Mashaba and Austin Malema. I have also always been a fan of the Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans List and secretly wanted to be part of the 200.'
She credited her support system for believing in her, saying: 'I am grateful for the close people in my life who thought I was worthy and nominated me.'
Palesa, who won the JCS International Young Creatives Award presented by the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 2024, hopes the accolades will open more doors.
'What you can expect from me is more storytelling,' she said.
'My biggest challenge is access to funding. I'm working on expanding my short film centred around gender-based violence, with hopes of telling it on a global stage. I also hope this opens doors for more collaboration.'
