Award-winning North Coast filmmaker Mark Engels has been travelling the world, representing his locally-shot film Masinga – The Calling at international film festivals while building momentum for future productions.

Engels – a Ballito-based writer, producer and director – is the creative force behind the paranormal crime-thriller filmed largely along the Dolphin Coast in 2022. He has also been actively seeking investment for upcoming productions.

Fresh off winning Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the 2025 Palermo Independent International Film Festival in Sicily, Engels was invited by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI to the Al Hoceima Film Festival to serve as a juror.

Later in May, the 60-year-old filmmaker’s next stop was the 78th Cannes Film Festival – the world’s most prestigious film festival – on the French Riviera.

“Cannes was amazing for me! The awards for Masinga have given me a platform to embark on more productions with bigger budgets,” he said.

“While in Cannes, I met with agents to negotiate the film rights for a Dutch-South African psychological thriller, which I will direct and produce.”

Engels is currently in London for a month. He is hoping to secure funds for his next projects and to get his film a theatrical release abroad.

Much of Masinga‘s proposed sequel will be shot in England, so he is meeting with British financiers due to the high costs of international film locations.

The Afro-centric film also received special mentions at several major film festivals in Africa, Europe and the United States. Engels further hopes to be invited to the Eurasia Kinofest International Film Festival in Sochi, Russia, in June.

In November, Engels will be heading to Mumbai to negotiate funding with film executives with the aim of casting A-list Bollywood actors for his Anglo-Boer War-era period drama, Time After Time, which he has already written.

Masinga – The Calling is set to premiere in South Africa on Showmax later this year.

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