“Nothing without a reason” is the adage that Pierre De Villiers lives and creates by. A fan of finding the why behind every frame, his images are provocative and always strive to explore new ways of looking at the world. Pierre navigates both long and short-form projects, loving the myriad of challenges that each piece of work presents. Pierre is a 2020 Berlinale Talents alumnus & was selected for its coveted camera studio program.

Pierre has shot all over the continent. His commercial and documentary work has been awarded by the South African Society of Cinematographers, while his latest short film ‘Mthunzi’ premiered at the Locarno Film Festival and screened at several other festivals globally, picking up the Jury Award for Best Short film at the AFI Festival & Best Cinematography at the European Film Awards. He recently completed photography on a Francophone series for Canal +, “Mami Wata”, which was shot in Gabon.

His second feature film ‘This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection’, which was shot entirely in the remote mountains of Lesotho, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2020, where it won the Special Jury Award for Visionary Filmmaking. The film continues to travel, having won a further 27 awards, two of which were for Best Cinematography (at Montclair International Film Festival and The African Movie Academy Awards). It was also Lesotho’s first-ever entry to the Oscars and the Golden Globes.

For further viewing: www.pierredevilliers.co.za