Kempton filmmaker earns international recognition in Russia

Kempton Park filmmaker Peter Vesko represented South Africa at the inaugural ArtMasters Open, an international creative competition held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, where his team secured third place in the Music category.

According to Vesko, the competition attracted 3 563 international applicants from 141 countries, as well as 400 applicants from Russia. Only 100 finalists were selected.

The official ArtMasters records list Vesko as the Film and TV Cameraman from Johannesburg, South Africa, on Team Five in the Music category.

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The team worked on a music video for artist Dana Sokolova and ultimately finished third in the competition.

For Vesko, the achievement carries additional significance as he believes he is the first South African to participate in the international ArtMasters Open.

“Obtaining third place is simply just part of the story. Competitions need positions, arts doesn’t always fit comfortably into them. Although I do have my own ideas on where we should have ranked, I went to Russia to participate in a creative process,” he said.

Vesko, who was born in Mamelodi and grew up in Kempton Park, said the experience demonstrated that South African creatives could compete internationally.

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“The art I intend to make sits far outside of the mainstream industry in South Africa. However, the children in South Africa will understand this. This achievement should mean more to young creatives who will push the industry forward in South Africa. We no longer need permission from anyone to do what we want to do,” he said.

ArtMasters, established in Russia in 2020, is a team-based competition for behind-the-scenes and digital art specialists working in film, music and other creative industries. The 2026 event was its first international competition.

Vesko heard about the opportunity at his Russian Orthodox church, where the Russian embassy in South Africa had organised an Mzansi-Russia intercultural day.

He subsequently applied online, submitting a portfolio of work he had produced independently using his iPhone.

“The application process was fairly straightforward, although getting selected was another matter. I submitted my portfolio and went through the selection process. I didn’t know what to expect, so I treated it as an opportunity and waited to see where it would take me,” he said.

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As a Film and TV Cameraman, his role focused on the visual aspects of the production, including storyboarding, lighting schemes, and image quality.

Some of the filming took place in Moscow, where Vesko could not be physically present. He said the team used a remote process that allowed him to see what the cameraman on location was seeing while he was in Pretoria.

However, he was directly involved in the filming when he travelled to Yekaterinburg in September.

There, he worked alongside an all-Russian team that included established filmmaker Serghey Grey.

The team produced a music video for Sokolova’s song “Lion Heart”, which featured scenes of the protagonist training in a boxing ring, as well as the singer surrounded by a ring set alight.

“But the concept is not about fighting. It’s not about victory. It’s about forging character,” said Vesko.

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He described working with people from different backgrounds and cultures as eye-opening, especially the chance to communicate and collaborate despite language barriers.

“Russia is not what Western media says it is. It’s a beautiful place, with beautiful food but, most importantly, beautiful people.

Yekaterinburg was an interesting experience. Different languages, different backgrounds and cultures, but this becomes less of a barrier when the vibe is there, and the vibe was definitely there. My experience made me realise how little you can understand about a place from the outside,” he said.

Vesko said he and director Vladislav Kaminstev found their own way of communicating despite the language differences.

He also felt that the footage filmed in Moscow differed from his preferred style, while the work produced in Yekaterinburg reflected his creative approach more closely.

“I would also say that the footage shot in Moscow is not really my style of filming. But the one shot in Yekaterinburg is definitely what I bleed,” he said.

Despite initially feeling nervous about working with more expensive and complex equipment, Vesko embraced the challenge.

“It’s funny because the work that got me into the competition was all shot on my iPhone XR. When I arrived there, I was suddenly working on a bigger budget with much more expensive and complex cameras, and this had me nervous. But I love the nervousness. I feed off my own anxiety,” he said.

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He had also taken his own camcorder from South Africa, which the team eventually incorporated into the music video.

Vesko said working with Sokolova involved translating the emotion and meaning of music into a visual story while respecting the artist’s creative identity.

“As a filmmaker, you are trying to translate something that already exists in sound into something people can experience visually. When working with an artist, it is not only about your own creative ideas but someone else’s artistic identity,” he said.

He added that he and Sokolova shared a similar creative energy and that he enjoyed working with her, particularly during an early-morning shoot in Yekaterinburg.

The experience has also influenced the direction he wants to take with his future projects.

“This experience has changed the direction that I seek to take my work. I stumbled upon a feeling while I was there that I am now actively chasing. God help me,” he said.

Among the moments he remembers most fondly are a photograph of himself on set with his camcorder as a fire was being extinguished in the background, and another of him holding the South African flag with his medal around his neck.

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Looking ahead, Vesko is completing a short film/documentary about his time in the Donetsk People’s Republic. He also plans to document weddings, South African artists and other stories through his own distinctive filmmaking approach.

“I will start documenting weddings because all the wedding videos I have seen do not capture the real essence of what that day actually means. I want to document more South African artists in a unique way that only I can. And I am now working on a script for a short film I want to screen at some film festivals,” he said.

For Vesko, the experience was a chance to show that South African creatives can collaborate and compete on an international stage.