I never needed any post traumatic counselling for school, I am happy to say that
I thoroughly enjoyed being a border.
After school I eventually found my way to studying at Pretoria Film School. During which time, I sang for PACT in the Opera Chorus to earn extra money to pay for those expensive artistic expressions that one had to create.
After film school, I started editing and gradually moved into producing. For the past 12 years I have been producing for MNET’s “Carte Blanche”. Needless to say this job has not brought untold fortune, the odd award, but it has afforded me a very interesting life. How often does one get the opportunity to attend a beauty pageant in prison? Now, I understand that this might not be a high priority, on the list of “must do before I die” for most of you. But there is something quite surreal about interviewing the winner, who strutted her stuff proudly in silver glitter shoes on the makeshift ramp in the prison quadrangle. Not quite the ruby red shoes in the Wizard f Oz, but certainly, “ Toto, I don’t think were in Kansas anymore”. The winning beauty was doing time for fatally stabbing her sister in a jealous rage. Interestingly, Charmaine Phillips styled all the contestant’s hair at the time.
Ok, so that is a little macabre – black humour is invigorating, much closer to real life I think.
Some of the other perks of the job has been swimming with a hippo, my son thinks that I am exceptionally cool for having achieved this. And there was also the enchanting opening of the No 1 Ladies Opera House ,with Alexander McCall Smith in the bushveld in Gabarone. The downside is, given the work I do, I am a little jaded about “man’s humanity to man”.
I now live in Durban with Katherine, my same sex life partner, who
I met in 2001 and we have a 6 year old son, Alexander. We conceived him
through IVF, we used my egg and she carried him. Many people have commented
that I got the better part of the deal - without having to deal with morning
sickness and the small matter of a Caesar. The law has also changed in South Africa, and both of us are registered as his parents.
My work is quite flexible/portable, it is wherever I can plug in my computer and have access to cellphone signal. I do travel when shooting and have an office at home where I edit my programmes.
I am quite a techno junkie, I love new information, I excuse this compulsive behaviour by saying that I am doing research for work!
My other interests are gardening and photography, I have just had
an exhibition of my botanical stills in Durban.
