Theatre-Maker: Jason Jacobs

Production Manager:  Cleveland Hopp

Sound Designer: Sean Devonport

Digital Media Designer: Inka Kendzia

Filmed Material: Kwei Shun-yu

Dramaturgy: Byron Klassen

Researcher: Wade Van Zyl

Matjieshut Builder: Hendrik T Brandt

Produced by KRAAL 

Text Development by NATi

Jason Jacobs 

Jason Jacobs is the 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist Award winner for theatre. An indigenous artist from Kharkams, Namaqualand, he is a storyteller who integrates his cultural heritage into contemporary narratives, exploring universal themes of identity, history, and community. Jason’s contributions to theatre and film earned him widespread acclaim. His second feature film (co-directed with Devon Delmar), Variations on a Theme, premiered in competition and won the Tiger Award at the 2026 International Film Festival Rotterdam, and Best African Film at the 2026 Joburg Film Festival. Additionally, KRAAL, their collective, received the SAFTA for Outstanding Provincial Contributor Award in 2026. Jason’s first short film, Nama Swaan, debuted at the kykNet Silwerskermfees, while the multi-nominated feature Carissa (NAAAP Productions) debuted at the Venice International Film Festival. His theatre debut was equally highly successful, with Jason’s trilogy of works earning him the Klein Karoo National Arts Festival New Voices award. Jason wrote, directed, and starred in numerous theatre productions, including his award-winning Kraal at the Black2Normal Festival in Denmark. He pursued his master's as a scholar under the Mellon Foundation-funded Reimagining Tragedy in Africa and the Global South project. His ongoing practice stays rooted in the dreamwork of the performing arts, healing practices, and community development. 

Cleveland Hopp 

Cleveland Hopp is a South African artist and activist from Malmesbury whose work explores queer identity, memory, and rural community life. A University of Cape Town graduate with distinction in documentary studies, he is best known for directing the documentary Onthou vi Fredo?, which honours murdered drag artist Alfredo April and has screened internationally, including at the Venice Film Festival and won Best Documentary at the Fame Shorts Film Festival. Hopp has also contributed to acclaimed projects such as Carissa and Variations on a Theme.

Inka Kendzia 

Inka Kendzia is a director and visual artist, having worked internationally as a motion designer and animation director on movies and documentaries, among them Ron Howard’s Grammy winning ‘The Beatles – eight days a week’. In her visual art she explores the body as a site of memory and our interconnectedness to nature, creating immersive Projection artworks incorporating new media like VR and exhibiting these internationally.

Sean Devonport 

Sean Devonport is a software engineer and audio engineer specialising in game engines, immersive content, sound design and control system programming. He was awarded an MSc in Computer Science with Distinction in 2018 and has since continued to explore and expand his work with a strong focus on interactive media and tools that help creators and developers alike. As a freelancer, he has worked on a wide range of projects with different teams in both the virtual, physical installation spaces. His speciality lies in the cross section music, location and field recording, sound design and programming. Alongside his freelance work, he has also been a founding developer in the launch of two successful startups - immersiveDSP and Simulon. ImmersiveDSP is a company focused on scalable loudspeaker solutions for immersive audio applications such as theme parks, museums and audio installations. Simulon is a mixed reality application that uses mixed reality as a way to abstract away the complexities of high quality rendering and compositing allowing anyone with an iPhone to achieve Hollywood level VFX.

Kwei Shun-yu 

Kwei Shun-yu (b. 1999, Chongqing, China) is a photographer and filmmaker. In 2019, he moved to Budapest, Hungary, to pursue a B.A. in Sociology. He is currently a Master's student in documentary filmmaking at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

Byron Klassen

Byron Klassen, a founding member of the Garage Dance Ensemble (established in 2011), has established himself as a powerful presence in South African dance—as a performer, choreographer, teacher, and cultural force. Born in Vier Kamp, O’okiep, and raised in Eerste River, Cape Town, Byron first explored his passion for dance as a schoolboy, choosing Dance Studies as a matric subject and matriculating in 2009 with strong academic results. Over the next two years, he explored different avenues, working with Namjive in O’okiep and Dance For All in Cape Town. A transformative two-week training intensive in New York, guided by esteemed international teachers, confirmed his decision to pursue a professional career in dance.