Darrell Roodt (Director)

South African film director Darrell J. Roodt made an international name for himself with the debut feature A Place of Weeping (1986), a passionate condemnation of apartheid that the New York Times hailed “... remarkable and groundbreaking”.

Educated at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, he gained further acclaim for The Stick (1988)  –  another look at the anti-apartheid struggle.  In 1990, he made his first film with American backing, Jobman, which opened The London Film Festival.

One of Roodt’s best-known films is his adaptation of the anti-apartheid stage musical Sarafina! (1992), starring Whoopi Goldberg, which the LA Times called “A stirring, emotional, powerful ten.  It’s  an important inspirational film that shimmers with Oscar gold”.

Roodt was nominated for an Oscar for his film Yesterday (2004).  It was acclaimed by Time magazine as “one of the best films of the year”.

He has made over twenty features, working with Oscar nominated actors such as James Earl Jones, Richard Harris, and Melissa Leo.  He has also worked successfully with Oscar nominated composers such as John Barry and Phillip Glass.

He has won numerous awards at various festivals throughout the world, including a Humanitarian Award at the Venice Film Festival in 2004, as well as the Prime Minister’s Prize at the Taormina Film Festival in Italy for his outstanding contribution to English language cinema alongside Peter Weir and Stephen Frears.

Diane Warren (Songwriter - Bleed For Love)

Diane Warren wrote the original song “Bleed For Love” for Winnie Mandela, which is sung by the film’s star Jennifer Hudson. She is one of the most prolific and successful songwriters of our time.  Her songs have been featured in more than 100 motion pictures, resulting in six Academy Award® nominations. In addition, she has been nominated for nine Grammys (winning for the song “Because You Loved Me”) and nominated for five Golden Globes.  She has been named ASCAP’s Songwriter of the Year six times.  Some of her big movie hits include “How Do I Live”, performed by Trisha Yearwood for Con Air – becoming a chart-topper by LeAnn Rimes; “Because You Loved Me,” sung by Celine Dion for Up Close and Personal; “Music Of My Heart,” performed by *NSYNC and Gloria Estefan for Music Of The Heart; “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing,” performed by Aerosmith for Armageddon; and “Do You Feel Me” from American Gangster, sung by Anthony Hamilton.

Diane works with popular acts, including Justin Bieber, Snoop Dogg, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Enrique Iglesias, Kelly Clarkson, Mary J. Blige, Akon, Jessie J, Emile Sande, Paloma Faith, Jennifer Hudson, Keyshia Cole, among many others.

During her impressive career, Warren has written for iconic artists such as Whitney Houston, Cher, Aerosmith, Elton John, Faith Hill, Aretha Franklin, Brandy, *NSYNC, Eric Clapton, Celine Dion, LeAnn Rimes, Mariah Carey, and Barbra Streisand, among many others.Diane won the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for the powerful ballad “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me,” which is performed by Cher in the movie Burlesque, starring Cher and Christina Aguilera.

In 2012, Diane was nominated for two Grammy Awards for the song “Born To Be Somebody” from Justin Bieber’s “Never Say Never” album, and for “You Haven’t Seen the Last of Me” from Burlesque, both in the category of Best Song Written for Visual Media.

She also wrote the song “I Was Here” for Beyoncé’s latest record, 4, which hit number one on the Billboard charts.  The video for the song was filmed at the U.N. to launch World Humanitarian Day, and it has reached over 1 billion people. Recently Diane wrote the original song “Silver Lining” performed by Jessie J for the critically acclaimed, award-winning film Silver Linings Playbook.  

Warren owns her publishing company, Realsongs – the most successful female-owned and operated business in the music industry.

André Pieterse (Writer / Producer)

André Pieterse, a 40-year veteran of the film industry, is the founder of the film production and distribution company, Ma-Afrika Films.  His first film projects as writer/producer were the classic 70s film, e’Lollipop (a.k.a. Forever Young, Forever Free) for Universal Pictures/Warner Bros and Alistair MacLean's Golden Rendezvous (a.k.a. Nuclear Terror) for United Artists.Pieterse is co-founder of South Africa’s two leading cinema chains, Ster-Kinekor and Nu Metro Cinemas.  He has served as Executive Vice President of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer International Inc., and Executive Vice-President of Columbia Theatres, Inc.  Pieterse is also a member of the Board of Governors of the Christian Film and Television Commission – publishers of Movieguide in the USA.

Pieterse’s upcoming projects as writer/producer include The Word of a Gentleman, based on the life of David Livingstone; and Zoyatchka, based on the book The Admirals Daughter, written by Haskel Frankel and Victoria Fyodorova.

Michael Mosca (Producer)

As head of Equinoxe Films since 1996, Michael Mosca has played a pivotal role in the strategic management and profitability for the company's various divisions.  Under his leadership, the company acquires and produces and distributes film and television properties in Canada and around the world.

Prior to joining Equinoxe in 1995, Mr Mosca worked in the area of exhibition for 15 years, eight of them as director of operations for Quebec at Cineplex Odeon Corporation, one of Canada's largest exhibition chains.  During his tenure at Equinoxe, Mr Mosca has made an indelible mark by acquiring and overseeing the release of The Passion of The Christ, which earned $25 million at the Canadian box office; My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which earned more than $30 million at the Canadian box office; and the hit comedy Mambo Italiano, which has become one of the highest grossing English Canadian films at the box office in its Canadian theatrical release, as well as sales to more than 40 international territories.

He is also responsible for initiating the formation of the company's production arm in 2004, which kicked off with a multi-award winning feature film in 2005: Un Dimanche à Kigali (A Sunday in Kigali).  Production was involved in eight more feature films including WINNIE MANDELA, starring Academy Award®-winner Jennifer Hudson and Academy Award®-nominee Terrence Howard.  Mr Mosca is presently working on three other projects for 2013 / 2014.

Mr Mosca's career in the film business spans over 30 years, in both distribution and exhibition.  He is President of the Motion Pictures Pioneers Association of Québec and also a Member of the Board of Cine Québec.  Recently, Mr Mosca has purchased Equinoxe Films and hopes to continue the tradition of quality established by France Film distribution and to set even higher goals.