Nisha has more than 20 years of experience in the local and international film and television industries in producing, distribution, marketing, education, training, coaching, mentoring and new business development in the public, private, educational and non-profit screen industries in Southern, West and East Africa, the UK, the USA and Canada.
Her graduate and undergraduate teaching experience includes:
Durban University of Technology: Department of Video Technology
York University, Toronto, Canada: Department of Film and Video
University of Natal-Durban: Centre for Culture and Media Studies
Her training and mentoring experience includes:
Durban Film Mart Finance Forum and Pitching Forum consultant, project selector and coach
Durban Film Office Producers’ Lab designer, producer, facilitator and trainer
Television for the Environment Africa producers and distributors network development consultant and coach
Business Model Canvas training for the Screen Industries at Durban FilmMart, the Durban FilmGuild and DISCOP South Africa
Facilitating YouTube and TikTok Masterclasses
Impact Producing at Encounters Documentary Film Festival & UCT Film Studies
Association for Film and TV Transformation Market Readiness consultant and coach
She also consults to and mentors screen industry enterprises and professionals in:
Business/company strategy, planning, development and management
Project research, development, packaging and pitching
Entering the screen industries and accessing new markets
Transmedia/crossmedia/multi-platform project design and producing
Impact Producing
Additionally, She:
Launched and managed The Producers’ Lab to train the next generation of executive producers for the Durban Film Office and SmartXchange Incubator.
Co-researched, co-designed and co-launched the Durban Film Market: Africa’s largest film market.
Managed 2 international film festivals: The Durban International Film Festival and The Cape Town World Cinema Festival; and produced film festivals around the themes of African cinema, activist/impact cinema, environment and climate justice, human rights and economics.
Served as an industry advisor to the National Film and Video Foundation, the KZN Film Commission, the Durban Film Office and the Durban Film Mart.
Participated in 14 official South African DTI delegations to festivals and markets in Asia, South America, North America, The UK and Europe.
Attended international film and TV markets in Africa, Asia, Europe, UK, USA, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean for more than 25 years.
Belongs to several local and international screen industry networks and organisations.
Her educational qualifications include:
A Bachelor of Arts Honours Degree in Culture and Media Studies from UKZN, South Africa
A Masters of Fine Arts Degree in Film and Video Production from York University in Toronto, Canada.
An MBA Degree from Manchester Business School in the UK
An MBA Concentration in the Business of Entertainment from The Marshall School of Business, The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, USA
Her professional development training and qualifications include:
Internships at Sony Pictures and Universal Studios in Los Angeles in the USA
A Certificate from the Screen for All Multi-platform Campus from Avance Rapide in Paris, France.
A Diploma from the Multiplatform Business School at The European Media Business School in Rhonda, Spain
A certificate from the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) Academy Documentary Summer School in Amsterdam, Netherlands
A certificate for film festival management professionals from the Deutsche Welle Akadamie in Berlin, Germany
A Post Graduate Diploma from Audio-Visual Entrepreneurs of Africa (AVEA) in South Africa
A certificate in Train The Trainer In Business Canvas Model for the Film Industry from the DFA SA and the Canadian Film Centre
Impact Producing with the YES MEN ACTION SWITCHBOARD in the USA.
