Yalezo Njuguna is thinking beyond the frame with HEATSKRS CON and Afriquan Film
Every great film begins with a vision, but bringing that vision to life takes more than a good story. It takes people willing to take risks, resources to make ambitious ideas possible and an industry ready to give those ideas room to thrive. This is the space Yalezo Njuguna has made his own, bringing together his work as an executive producer, researcher, creative director and multidisciplinary artist to champion African storytelling and reimagine what the creative industry can offer through BAI Foundation.
With HEATSKRS CON returning to Johannesburg on 13 and 14 November, Njuguna is part of a growing wave of creatives who aren’t just looking to find their place in the industry, but are actively creating new opportunities, opening doors and changing what the industry can look like. Through BAI Foundation, and Enraptured Odyssey, which he co-founded, Njuguna has been developing projects that approach the creative industry from different angles. There is HEATSKRS, which brings emerging creatives, entrepreneurs and industry practitioners into the same space; Afriquan Film, which continues to cultivate curiosity around African cinema; and Afriquan Exclusives, which is exploring how audiences can become part of a film’s journey before it reaches the screen.
What connects these ventures is an appetite for possibility. Njuguna is interested in the entire life of a creative idea: its conception, production, financing, distribution, reception and the opportunities it creates along the way. As HEATSKRS CON prepares to bring these conversations and connections to Johannesburg, his work offers a compelling glimpse into a generation that is not content with simply entering the creative industry. It wants to expand what the industry can become.
Xabiso Ngqabe sat down with the multi-hyphenate creative force to talk about HEATSKRS, his journey so far and the stories he is determined to bring to life.
What inspired the vision, and what gap in South Africa’s creative industry were you hoping to address with HEATSKRS?
BAI Foundation’s main objective is to advance the African voice and the scope of what our creativity can accomplish when it is supported, nurtured and more connected. So the vision behind HEATSKRS CON within that objective was to create a space that allowed the emerging creative economy to meaningfully connect at a grassroots level, as well as to document some of the amazing stories and journeys that are coming from creative entrepreneurs and storytellers from our generation; so that our building archives have more meaningful points of reference.
The gap we’re addressing is really to provoke a curiosity surrounding the wider creative ecosystem and what young, independent voices are doing. Our sectors often work in silos whether you’re talking about film, animation, comedy, music or fashion but some of the best films and works of art exist due to incredible innovations that happen when these sectors meaningfully collaborate and understand each other. So we wanted to create a space that really focuses on that type of industry development. Having a stage that really puts youth, creative entrepreneurship and our creative economy centre stage and provokes us to think about more of what we could be whilst celebrating the brilliance of what we have.
This year’s convention is divided into two experiences: The Information Hub and The Cultural Hub. What informed this structure, and what do you hope audiences will take away from each day?
The structure was honestly informed by budget and lessons from previous years of doing HEATSKRS in wanting to give our attendees really cohesive experiences.
Both days are incredibly rich in programming. Day 1 is focused on providing really in-depth and practical workshops, masterclasses and session focused on Business and Industry Development; from an open Tax and Financial Administration consultation in a Compliance Check session with Ndule to an expansive Demystifying The Box Office workshop, by Nicolette Scheepers that is engineered to help filmmakers better understand the exhibition landscape.
Day 2 to Cultural Hub is really focused on the sharing of stories, presentations and insights from across the creative economy inclusive of film, animation, fine art, music, music publishing, film distribution and so much more. The intention of this day is to inspire curiosity, share knowledge and all better understand the journey of young builders, founders and stakeholders who exist across our expansive creative industry.
Afriquan Film is introducing Afriquan Exclusives as an opportunity to spotlight upcoming local productions. What inspired this initiative, and what can audiences expect?
Wanting to create more fun and fanfare around African film. There’s not a lot of infrastructure in building hype and unique experiences for independent South African films outside of premieres and film festivals. So we wanted to create a space for film enthusiasts to get immersed with early looks and special presentations. A space that focuses on really inviting audiences into the world-building of films earlier in the process, so that there’s more space to build momentum for our stories.
Attendees can expect exclusives, special presentations, fun and interesting behind the scenes facts and panels surrounding the presented projects and African filma. This is a place to get an early look or a deeper insight into the world-building and magic of some really amazing African projects. This year we’re bringing 2 early looks and 4 special presentations that I’m incredibly excited about and inspired by.
What kinds of stories, voices and perspectives are you particularly interested in bringing to the forefront through Afriquan Film?
Compelling stories made by Africans, One of Afriquan Film’s primary missions is to spotlight the range of stories being made within South Africa, the continent and the African diaspora. To develop a space that fosters curiosity around African Cinema and what it can be in a fun and engaging way.
Our club and screenings have spotlighted romances, coming-of-age films, documentaries, slice-of-life pieces, comedies and sci-fi pieces, so genre isn’t a consideration, more than it is about films made by Africans that fully immerse you in the world and make you excited and curious to explore more of what our country and continent has to offer.
What has been one of the most rewarding moments in your journey so far?
Being able to create a space that captures the incredible and inspirational strides being made by African youth in our ecosystem in creating spaces, stories and platforms to propel our industry forward. At this year’s HEATSKRS two of our BAI Spotlights speakers are founders of streaming platforms actively tackling the distribution in 4Flieks & Story Time Universe. Incredible young filmmakers like the SAFTA-winning Sandulela Asanda and Nqanawe Shangase sharing their groundbreaking journeys with projects like Black Burns Fast & Ubani Lore.
The Bloo Grape team will have an entire hackathon taking place whilst having panels focused on The Evolution of Third Spaces being presented by French For New, the team behind Soundset Sundays & Once Upon A Time in Joburg. Over the years we’ve had presentations from creative tech, talent management and merchandising, all the way music publishing, digital art galleries, comic books, marketing agencies and more. Last year even launched an incubation hub for supporting African youth-led initiatives in executing or scaling an MVP; and the work happening with those beneficiaries is an entire documentary all on its own.
When we look back five years from now, what impact would you like these platforms to have made on the South African creative landscape?
We want to positively change how people think about Africa’s creative economy from its value to the different ways we can navigate and innovate the space for ourselves and the next generation. Part of that impact is in fostering meaningful connection across different disciplines of film and our creative sector. Our industry has incredible practitioners and builders who often work in silos; part of our focus for industry development is in building meaningful bridges at a grassroots level to change that.
The second is to have deepened how we document the stories of our industry in a way that makes it easier for newer generations to better understand our stories, storytellers and our industry. We want to make people care about this space, to have fun within it and for it to be more sustainable in how we build within it.
HEATSKRS CON 2026 takes place on 13 – 14 November at the Tshimologong Digital Innovation Precinct in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Save the dates and be part of the conversation. Follow HEATSKRS and BAI Foundation for programme updates and ticketing information. Tickets are available via Quicket.
