Intimacy on Set

One of South Africa’s most prolific and celebrated female directors, much of her ground breaking work has garnered awards both locally in South Africa, as well as internationally where her films have been selected to open multiple film festivals.

Her work focuses on the authentic telling of unusual and surprising small stories that are splashed against larger social tableaus in an attempt to render the invisible visible.

She also runs her own production company - Real Eyes Films, as well as Safe Sets, a company focused on providing assistance for intimate scenes across film, television and theatre.
Sara is co-founder of REAL EYES FILM , a boutique South African based production company that has made a number of award-winning features, documentaries and drama series. An honors graduate of NYU, she has directed four feature films and some outstanding and noteworthy documentaries including “Surfing Soweto” and “Kobus And Dumile” for which she won CNN’s African journalist of the year award. Her first feature film “Otelo Burning” won over 17 international awards and was named by CNN as one of the top ten African films of the decade. She has won numerous SOUTH AFRICAN FILM AND TELEVISION awards including for best feature film and director 2016 for her film “Dis ek Anna”. Sara served on the SASFED ( the South African Federation of film organisations) council and was founder and Chairperson of the Board of SWIFT ( Sisters working in Film and Television .AWARDS AND PRIZES
Sara Blecher was recently awarded a grant by the South African National Film and Video Foundation NFVF, to develop and produce a slate of films. She is a founding member of SWIFT (South African Women in Film and Television) She was nominated in the new Directors Voice category of the Seattle international Film Festival and was awarded the IFP Adrienne Shelly Director’s Grant in New York (2012) Sara is a former recipient of the CNN African Journalist of the Year Award in the Arts and culture category (2003). Her work has won numerous awards as outlined below.

Festivals and Awards
Ayanda played in over fifty festivals around the world, was selected as the opening night film of six and was earned numerous nominations and awards including:
Special Jury Mention Los Angeles International film festival, world competition (2015); Golden Panda for Special award at the 2017 BRICS International Film Festival in Chengdu, China (2017); Best Actress award AFRIFF, Lagos Nigeria (2016) ; 8 Nominations and winner Best script/ Makeup ( AMVCA awards 2016 ) ; 9 Nominations and winner best actress African Movie Academy Awards ( 2016); 6 Nominations South African Film and Television awards and winner of Best Actress ( 2016)
It also played in competition at BFI London International Film; was Opening night film Durban International Film Festival (2015); Opening night film Cinema Africa Film Festival, Stockholm (2016); Opening night film New Zealand African Film Festival (2016); Opening night film Mozambique International Film (2016) ; Opening night film Festival Cinemas d'Afrique, Lausanne (2016); Opening nights film Africa in motion Film Festival Edinburgh, (2016)

Awards for DIS EK ANNA Include: Best film, best actor and best director Silverskerm Film festival (2015); winner of Best Director and Best Feature film at the South African Film and Television awards (2015)

Awards for Otelo Burning include: Best Drama - One World Media awards in London (May 2012), Was Nominated 13 AMAA (African Movie Academy Awards) Won 2 – Best cinematographer (Lance Gewer) best child actor (Tshepang Mohloni) Lagos, Nigeria 2012, Audience award for best feature Cinerama BC (Brazil, 2012), Best feature film Cape Winelands Film Festival (2012), Winner Long fiction Feature Competition Bagdad International Film Festival (2012), Winner best sound and Best Actor at the Colors of the Nile Film Festival in Addis Ababa, Winner Best international feature at the Bronze lens Film Festival in Atlanta , Winner "I Have Rights" in The Armenian International Children’s Film Festival
Festivals include: Busan International, London International, Seattle International, Dubai International, Heartlands, Opening film at the Durban International Film Festival

Awards for Surfing Soweto include: Official selection Durban International Film Festival 2010; Tri Continent Film Festival 2010 - audience award best documentary; Youth award (best film) Artivist film festival Los Angeles 2011; Best documentary (Rwanda Film Festival 2011); Official selection Film Africa (London 2011);Official selection Tarifa Film Festival Spain 2011; Official selection Afrikamera Film Festival – Poland 2011; South African film and television award SAFTA (2012) best documentary; Winner best feature documentary at the fifth annual Africa World Documentary Film Festival 2012.