Welcome to Shadow Films!

We hope you enjoy your stay


David in one of his favourite cities


Shadow Films is a multimedia company that began in Sydney, Australia, and returned to South African in 1991 after Nelson Mandela walked free. Passionate about Africa, we produce mostly documentary material in video, digital photography, and written form.

David Forbes, S.A.S.C.Alumni, is the driving force, having begun his career in journalism and photography in 1978, moving to film in 1983, and then worked his way up the ranks from runner to director, producer, cinematographer, editor and international distributor of African content. He owns his own archive material and has researched and written extensively about the apartheid era.

The award-winning filmmaker and photographer has experience of big-budget feature film productions, hundreds of commercials, corporates and drama series. He has worked with most of the world's major broadcasters. However, he is happiest working in small teams, or alone, on projects that reflect Africa's heritage, wealth of wildlife, locations and history, and Africa's incredible stories, so many of which remain untold.  

He has trained hundreds of aspiring filmmakers, mentored others, set up guilds for film sectors, started and led a film industry trade union, forced government to create a National Film Strategy, took producers to global markets such as MIPCOM and MIP-TV, and is currently working with UCLA on a project to save a massive video archive, while mentoring some young filmmakers, activists and archivists.


"Filmmaking is an art and a science, but it is also magic." – Gabriel Beristain ASC, BSC


Captions below  (top, L-R): Shooting in Afghanistan, a hothead and crane in a studio, a commercial in New Zealand

(bottom) In the Australian desert, sitting backwards on a bike to film another, filming elephants in Botswana


It's time to pass on that experience and knowledge . . . and magic!


"One, you have to have a passion. Two, have the dedication. It's got to be the most important thing in your life. And three, you can never give up. We all have failures, but that shouldn't stop us." – William Fraker, ASC, BSC