CEO/ FounderSunshine Cinema
Sydelle Willow Smith, born in Johannesburg, is an accomplished stroyteller and impact strategist, known for her focus on migration and belonging. Her impactful career includes collaborations with National Geographic, The New York Times, and social movements in Southern Africa. As the Executive Director of Sunshine Cinema, co-founded 7 years ago, Smith leads a solar-powered cinema network across South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya, engaging over 100 young media entrepreneurs in promoting local stories and social dialogue. Sunshine Cinema received prestigious awards, including the DIFF Access to Cinema Award and the British Council Beyond Borders Award.
Smith's photographic work, exhibited globally, explores identity and settler colonial histories. A Global Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity, she holds a master's degree in African Studies from the University of Oxford and graduated cum laude in Visual Anthropology and Film Production from the University of Cape Town.