The company creates employment opportunities for 15 to 20 highly skilled independent contractors on a yearly basis. We also provide mentorship and training to unemployed youth and female media practitioners.


Executive Producer

Sihle Hlophe

Sihle Hlophe is a multi award-winning director and a multi-degree earner. She is the founder and executive producer of Passion Seed Communications, a film-driven social enterprise. She also works as a story development consultant.

Over the last 14 years, her work has been recognised with a number of accolades including two African Movie Academy Award nominations for Best Documentary and over 60 global film festival selections. Hlophe is an alumni of the IDFAcademy (the Netherlands), the North-South-South Student Exchange Program (Finland) and the Hot Docs Blue Ice Group Story Lab (Canada). She is currently receiving Story Editing training at the Torino Story Lab (Italy). Hlophe is also directing two feature-length documentaries, “Celebrating Winnie Through Song” (SA, Nigeria) and “Road To Jerusalema” (SA, Israel, Palestine).

She is the producer and director of the feature-length documentary, “Lobola, A Bride’s True Price” (2022), winner of the Most Outstanding Documentary Project award at the Durban Film Mart. Hlophe directed, “Lindela Under Lockdown” (2020), winner of the Best Documentary Award at the Cameroon International Film Festival and the Best Documentary Short Award at the South African Film & Television Awards (SAFTAs). In 2021, Hlophe directed and produced the SAFTA nominated documentary short “Celebrating Herstory Through Song”. Hlophe has directed two feature-length Showmax Original made-for-TV fiction films, “Pearls Of Wisdom” (2021) and “Expiry Date” (2022). Hlophe is the director of “African Dreams” (2021), a SAFTA-winning 13-part mocku-series that was broadcast on SABC 1. Hlophe is the co-producer of ‘Sadla’ (2020), a narrative short film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival (USA).

Hlophe has written and directed two award-winning narrative short films, “As I Am” (2014) and “Nomfundo” (2017). Between 2012 and 2017, she worked as a scriptwriter and storyliner on award winning TV shows such as “Lockdown”, “Scandal”, “Mutual Friends” and “Broken Vows”. She has also worked as a part-time Lecturer at AFDA (2016) and the University of Johannesburg (2018/19).



Story Research Consultant

Mamokuena Makhema

Makhema has numerous outputs on television and in films, both in South Africa and internationally, as a writer, director and producer.

For over 15 years she has worked as a content creator and in recent years she has added expertise in development of human rights advocacy content for Southern African audiences, to her repertoire of skills. Makhema hold a Master’s Degree in Film and TV Studies from Wits University where she majored in Documenting History and Screenwriting. In earlier years, prior to working as a creative, she worked as a Projects Manager for the Film Resource Unit (FRU) and she has engaged ample content from across the continent. When Makhema joined the Pan African Federation of Filmmakers (FEPACI) in 2008 as Head of Research & Education, she gained added exposure to filmmakers whose content she engaged at FRU. She has also worked as a Lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT) Film and TV programme.

In 2016, she left lecturing and re-joined the film industry to work on a number of social justice inspired films and television shows. In her capacity as Story Research Consultant for Passion Seed Communications, Makhema has worked on the award-winning feature-length documentary “Lobola, A Bride’s True Price?” and more recently on the OXFAM funded documentary, “Medupi & The Rose Of Lephalale”.



Financial Management Consultant

Ashillagh Marufu

Ashillagh has a Tax Honors and a Bcomm Accounting degree from Rhodes University. Following her graduation she entered the media industry, previous experience including several years at Endemol Shine Africa managing flagship shows such as Big Brother Africa and Fear Factor where she controlled large budgets for channels such as Mnet. Ashillagh has overseen multiple productions for many companies including Mnet, ZDF, HBO, UKTV, ZDF, BBC, TLC, A&E Networks and Discovery.

She has been key in the formulation and implementation of business strategy and operational leadership in the media space. Recent projects include Trackers a 6 part series for ZDF, HBO and its sister channel Cinemax and broadcaster M-Net.

Trackers is currently airing on Sky Atlantic in the UK and is being met with great acclaim worldwide. She also recently Executive Produced a special 5 part documentary series, Survival of the Species for BBC Studios and a slate of factual content with worldwide distribution through DCD.



Production Manager

Fisiwe Kubeka

Kubeka enrolled at the Tshwane University of Technology to study Film & Drama in 2008. She completed her B-Tech in 2011 and was featured in numerous student theater productions including “Game”, which toured the Grahamstown Festival in 2010.

In 2013 Fisiwe started working behind the scenes as a Production Coordinator on documentaries such as “Afrique”, “Vuma: A Music Revolution” and the SAFTA-winning “Skulls Of My People”. She has also worked on short films like “Vrede” and “Berea” and then crossed over to TV, working on the reality music show “Remix” on SABC 1 and the award-winning drama series “Tjovitjo” (SABC 1) as a Production Coordinator and Actress. In 2018 she was the Production Manager of a short film, “Sadla” (selected for Sundance 2019) and from 2018 to 2021, she worked on the feature-length documentary “Lobola, A Bride’s True Price?” (nominated for an Africa Movie Academy Award in 2022).

Over the years, her acting career has also taken giant leaps. In 2016 she made appearances on “Gold Diggers”; in 2017 she landed her biggest role as Ntombi on Tjovitjo” and in 2018, she played Gloria in “Ring Of Lies”. From 2017 until 2019, she was in a National Children’s Theater production “Short Cut”, which toured schools across Gauteng and KZN and earned a Naledi Nomination. In 2021, Kubeka was featured on “African Dreams” (SABC 1).

She has also been featured on a number of TV commercials such as the "Cooking Must Fall" advert by Debonairs and more recently, an advert for Disprin. In 2022, she played Penny on the Showmax Original film “Expiry Date”. More recently, she has worked as Production Manager on the documentary “Medupi & The Rose Of Lephalale” (2023) and the docu-series “Kalawajazmee”. Kubeka is currently Producing her first short film “Okovi” (2023), which features an all deaf cast.


Researcher & Social Media Manager

Thato Phofu

Thato Phofu is a talented emerging Director, Writer, Creative Director and 2 times Cum Laude graduate with a BA in Film & Television and a BA Hons in Sociology from the University of Johannesburg. Phofu is currently reading for her Masters Degree at the same institution.

Since 2022, Phofu has been working at Passion Seed Communications, a film-driven social enterprise. She has worked as a Junior Researcher on three documentaries, “Lobola, A Bride’s True Price?” (90 min), “Celebrating Winnie Through Song” (90 min) and “Medupi And The Rose Of Lephalale” (15 min). She is the Virtual Assistant to the social enterprise’s Executive Producer and the Social Media Manager, managing platforms with over 50 000 followers collectively.

As a student filmmaker, Phofu and her fellow student filmmakers won a Gold Assegai Award from the Digital Marketing Agency of South Africa for a social justice project. In 2021, she developed her skills as a creative director and media consultant by taking on freelance gigs with music video directors, artist managers and venue/event managers to assist in curating the best brand reputation.

More recently, Phofu served as Production Assistant on a sign language short film “Okovi”. Since the beginning of 2023, Thato has also been working as a part-time Lecture at Boston Media House in Sandton, Johannesburg.