Zambia-based documentary filmmaker exploring human-centred stories at the intersection of culture and conservation.
About
Mainala Silondwa is a Zambian-based documentary filmmaker with a penchant for good eats and obscure East Asian shows. In 2017, she studied video production and digital storytelling in Cape Town, South Africa, laying the foundation for her career in media production. The following year, she was selected for the MultiChoice Talent Factory (MTF), graduating at the top of her class and earning a scholarship to the New York Film Academy (NYFA).
In 2020, she became the director of pre-recorded documentary content at Zambia’s first 24-hour news station, producing human interest stories and developing show formats. Through Nature Environment Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF), she participated in the 2021 Jackson Wild Media Lab, co-producing and editing Ukuxhumana, a short documentary that premiered at that year’s Jackson Wild Summit. She later joined the Zambezi Film Fellowship, spending months self-shooting short-form content in and around Lower Zambezi National Park. She has also worked as a camera assistant and second camera operator on productions for Apple TV and the BBC Natural History Unit.
