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Ndiani Studios
About Us
Ndiani Studios is a creative company that creates world-class African content with an international appeal by partnering with innovative and exciting creators that expand the perception of the continent's vibrant, diverse, and complex identity. We are creating sustainable creative business ecosystems that partner with skills; expertise, potential, resources, and platforms. Our work is scalable and contributes to profitability and business viability by working with stakeholders and creators that are representative of the content we make. Our work is about legacy creation and aims to be of high quality whilst developing talent and creative business leaders to duplicate themselves in the process.
The Team
The "who" behind Ndiani
After over a decade-long career in live action where she wrote, directed, and produced multi-genre work that has been awarded and sold into global markets; followed by 5 years working as a broadcast executive; Tendayi Nyeke recently included animation in her tool kit. She was a development executive for the Emmy Award Winning animation firm, Triggerfish Animation Studios where she looked after the story development of a diverse slate of shorts, series, and feature films with global streamers and studios.
One of the roles she's most proud of is that of Executive producer on a pan-animated African Sci-Fi Anthology with Disney Plus for release in 2023 where she supported 14 directors across the continent in the production of 10 ground-breaking short films for release on Disney+ in 2023.
Her personal feature film Tribe made the official MIFA 2022 selection which she pitched at the Annecy Animation Festival and was highlighted by Cartoon Brew as one of the top 5 films to watch. Tendayi is excited about her current role as a co-executive producer for Netflix Animation Feature Film.
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Passionate about where art and business meet, Tendayi holds an MBA in Music and Creative Industries from Henley Business School. Her dream is to do her part to amplify diverse voices worldwide in celebration of the fun, madness, and beauty found in all of us as people.
A talented Singer/Songwriter/actress and now Associate Producer and Casting Executive for Ndiani Studios, Dikelo is an artist who believes in maintaining sincerity in her work. Her added experience in musical theatre and her eclectic array of influences make her style difficult to put into a category. Hailing from a corporate background as a BI Developer, she took a leap of faith and threw herself into her true calling as a performer.
One of her great achievements to date has been coming runner-up in the Castle Milk Stout Songwriters competition in 2014, where she performed alongside SA sensations, Micasa. Dikelo also co-produced and starred in the Grahamstown National Arts Festival 2015 - 2017 run of the sexy comedy, Six Inches. Dikelo recorded and released her debut EP called Awakened in April 2016, which is available on most online platforms.
Her career has naturally progressed into the production space, which has become an adventure she never knew she’d been waiting to take. As the Talent Executive, Dikelo looks forward to working with new and undiscovered talent, as well as collaborating and learning from veterans in the industry to tell real and authentic stories that resonate and break
barriers and stereotypes. As Associate Producer, she looks forward to creating content that entertains, informs, and moves people, without compromising on quality and excellence. To always push the limits, and pioneer new ways of making content that stand out and has
longevity.
A talented prolific trainer, director of photography, and producer, Tumelo is a filmmaker & cinematographer with a sharp eye and know-how to achieve various styles and approaches with the project in mind. In his 15-year career so far, Tumelo has prioritized tailoring the casting of a team to the needs of leadership and creative. A teacher at heart, Tumelo has lectured at film academies including South Africa's Big Fish. His ability to put on multiple production hats from camera, DOP, and Executive Producer allows him to be an agile thinker in solving production problems. This has meant a fantastic collaborator for multiple stakeholders. Tumelo's recent success is serving as Executive Producer on prime time sci-fi show The Mysterious Cube airing on South Africa's largest broadcaster SABC (2023).
Passionate about mentorship and development, Tumelo is the winner of the Turnup Music Artists Unite competition where he was the director & cinematographer of the winning music video. He was also a cinematographer on Ndiani Studios' web series Working Wives (Showmax, 2021) and has worked in various capacities for other pay-TV platforms including Moja Love reality and drama series, and for premium channel Mzansi Magic.