September 2017 marked a significant milestone in the illustrious career of award-winning filmmaker and screenwriter Jahmil X.T. Qubeka, spanning over 15 years and encompassing a diverse range of filmmaking disciplines. Notably, his documentary and feature film work has been showcased at numerous prominent international film festivals, including the Toronto International Film Festival, Rotterdam Film Festival, London International Film Festival, Pusan International Film Festival in Korea, and the Dubai Film Festival, among others.
In 2005, Jahmil's AIDS documentary for Sesame Street earned the prestigious Peabody Award in America for best actuality programming, solidifying his reputation as a talented and accomplished filmmaker. His subsequent success was cemented when he was named the 2014 South African Standard Bank Young Artist of the Year in the Film category.
One of Jahmil's most notable achievements is his feature film "Of Good Report," which has the distinction of being the first feature film to be effectively banned in post-apartheid South Africa. Despite this, the film garnered widespread critical acclaim and numerous awards. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2013 and went on to be selected for the official competition at the London International Film Festival, a first for an African film.
The film's accolades continued to pile up, with it winning the BAFTA LA Best Feature Prize at the Pan African Film Festival in Los Angeles in 2014, as well as best feature and several other awards at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in Nigeria. It also took home an unprecedented seven awards at the South African Film and Television Awards in 2014.
Currently, Jahmil is working on several directorial projects, including the poignant "Sew the Winter to my Skin," which has been selected for the exclusive Cannes L'Atelier programme for 2017 and is set to go into production in November 2017. He is also working on the football film "The Kings of Kwano" and the epic South African boxing tale "Knuckle City."
