BRIAN TILLEY | Director/ Producer| South Africa

Lived on a few continents, worked for five years for global media outlets, understood some things and dedicated the rest of his life to creative parenting, creative football and creative documentaries. Plays blitz chess, writes satirical columns for PLAYBOY and lectures worldwide on the realpolitik of documentary filmmaking. Four films, 300+ festivals, all-inclusive funding, global lecturing track record.

Tilley produced the short documentary films for the Steps’ Why Democracy global documentary series and subsequently produced both the 8 long and 40 short films for the global Why Poverty series.

His documentary on AIDS activist, Zackie Achmat, It’s My Life, was screened in competition at IDFA and on several international television channels including BBC, ARTE, YLE, CBC, YLE, SVT, DR and SUNDANCE. He also wrote and directed the drama series In a Time of Violence co-produced with Channel Four, YLE and ARTE, which sold to 32 countries.

He worked as a Story Consultant / Script Editor on acclaimed documentaries including Rehad Desai’s Emmy award-winning Minors Shot Down, Hajooj Kuka’s TIFF Audience Award winner Beats of the Antonov, and Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman’s Silas, which premiered at TIFF.

In addition he has script edited fiction films such as Oliver Schmitz’s Hijack Stories, Wanuri Kahiu’s Kenyan Cannes hit Rafiki and Mickey Fonseca’s Mozambique feature film Resgate. He co-wrote Akin Omotoso’s 2019 Nigerian feature film The Ghost In The House of Truth.