Local casting director celebrated

After years of hard work and dedication, casting director and filmmaker Moonyeen Lee received the Lionel Ngakane Lifetime Achievement Award for her revered work in the film industry.

The award was presented to Lee during the festival, which ends on 12 March and is being held at the Market Theatre in Newtown.

Lee was born in South Africa but spent much of her early life travelling with her mother, actress Shirley Hepburn. She grew up immersed in the acting industry and returned to South Africa many times, completing some of her school years here.

As a young adult, she was drawn back to South Africa and settled here permanently, turning her innate knowledge of the acting craft into professional casting.

In the presence of her peers, industry friends and family, Lee received the award which is only given to a person who has made outstanding contributions to African film – an award fitting for Lee who pioneered the role of casting directors in the South African film industry and brought acting talent to many films.

“If there’s one person in the whole wide world who has been most important to every success – big and small – in my career, that would be the recipient of this award. Having spent 43 years painting with people, as it were, by helping film directors from all over the world get the best of South African acting talent. She remains the cornerstone of the South African movie business,” actor Vusi Kunene commented on Lee, who has been his agent for 20 years.

With an illustrious career having kicked off in 1974 and casting talent for award-winning movies such as Blood Diamond and Tsotsi, she commented on her time in the industry. “It’s been an extraordinary journey, but it’s been a wonderful journey that I would never trade for anything. I would not be standing here without the talent of South African actors,” concluded Lee.

Read: Bringing Brics filmmakers out of the woodwork