Africa's untold stories are being rewritten by trailblazers on both sides of the lens – in the water and behind it. In South Africa, Pragna Parsotam-Kok and Noel Kok have created a revolutionary platform for local talent to shine, shattering traditional narratives that have dominated the wildlife documentary genre for far too long. Their pioneering initiative, the Nature Environment and Wildlife Conservation Trust (NEWF), was born in 2017 out of a desire to empower African voices and provide more authentic portrayals of the continent's rich ecosystems.
The Koks' experience making a wildlife series in 2015 had highlighted the significant barriers faced by African storytellers. It wasn't until 2018, however, that they realised the acute shortage of African underwater filmmakers and marine biologists who could swim or dive. This led to NEWF's first "dive lab" in 2019, training ten fellows. Since then, the programme has expanded dramatically, boasting a cohort of nearly 400 individuals from 37 African countries and 13 other nations in the global South, with over 200 divers trained in Sodwana Bay alone.
Beyond diving, NEWF has broadened its scope to encompass comprehensive filmmaking and composition workshops. Noel Kok noted the historical absence of black African nature filmmakers, stating, "I like to joke that black African nature, environment and wildlife film-makers were rarer than most of the species scientists and conservationists were trying to protect on the continent." The organisation's commitment to cultural authenticity extends to music, with composition workshops added in 2021. This focus paid dividends in 2023 when a National Geographic film's score, composed by NEWF fellows including local musician Koolkat Motyiko, won Best Original Score at the Jackson Wild film festival, surpassing Hans Zimmer's work for David Attenborough's Frozen Planet II.
A significant milestone for NEWF is the establishment of eKhaya, a dedicated dive and filmmaking centre in Sodwana Bay, which opened in November 2023. This facility was made possible through annual funding of $1m-$1.5m (approximately £747,000-£1.1m) from National Geographic, secured in 2022 for the five-year Africa Refocused programme. eKhaya, meaning "home" in Zulu, features an editing suite, a 3.5-metre dive pool, and 12 rooms for fellows. The centre is built on land belonging to the grandmother of Silindile Mbuyazi, a local diver who found a new purpose through NEWF after a personal tragedy and now teaches diving to over 150 fellows.
The local economic impact of NEWF and eKhaya is substantial. The centre provides employment, training, and opportunities for local interns, some of whom are learning to swim for the first time before progressing to diving. These interns undertake self-driven projects, contributing to local community initiatives and research. The initiative not only cultivates a new generation of filmmakers but also stimulates growth in Sodwana Bay's economy.