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About.
Optical Films, founded by award-winning producer/director team Bianca Vermooten and Shane Vermooten, is a London based private film company with offices in London and Cape Town. Optical Films develops and produces films, television series and documentaries. With a track record of global accolades, including winning prestigious Golden Horns at both the 2022 and 2023 South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs).
BIANCA VERMOOTEN
Bianca Vermooten earned her MBA from the University of Oxford in 2021 and went on to become VP of Production at Maven Screen Media in London, collaborating with major players like Amazon, Sony, and River Road Entertainment. Throughout her career, Bianca has taken stories across the globe, crafting acclaimed feature films, documentaries, and narrative shorts. Notably, she brokered Chinese co-production deals for two recent projects: "KUSASA" and "The Heart of Cape Town" (2022). Her work has involved collaborations with industry leaders including Tencent Pictures, Chuan Films, and Netflix.
SHANE VERMOOTEN
Shane Vermooten is a SAFTA winning director; he has filmed in 21 countries and his work has won awards around the world. His film #WeAreDyingHere, with executive producer Siya Kolisi, is a first-of-its-kind project; a fusion of spoken word, music and visual metaphor that weaves a powerful story of the war that rages against women’s bodies. His documentary Kusasa was selected as the only South African film to form part of a BRICS co-production, executive produced by China’s acclaimed Lu Chuan and Tencent Pictures. Kusasa won best documentary feature at Chagrin International Film Festival as well as SCAD Savannah Film Festival and was selected as part of the marquee selection at Austin Film Festival. Bypass, Shane's debut feature film, was theatrically released and received global distribution. He is an alumnus of President Obama’s Young African Leaders Initiative, and a Mail & Guardian Top 200 Young South African.
