Nolitha Refilwe Mkulisi

Nolitha Mkulisi is a South African filmmaker based in Berlin with a wide production and casting background working on over 40 commercials, including Drake's first Apple Music visual album. She also contributed to films such as The Wound, The Congo Murders, Stillborn and Sew The Winter to My Skin. She eventually started independently producing several shorts, which have been screened at renowned festivals before progressively transitioning to a focus on directing/screenwriting, where her debut short had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and subsequently played at several others. She is a Berlinale Talents 2022 alumna and Academy Gold Fellowship nominee by the Sundance Institute for her directorial debut short and feature hybrid film in post-production.

Filmography

2022 NSFW

Selected project: "Lady Pearl"

Nicky, a low-income employee of an enigmatic luxury hotel nicknamed “Lady Pearl” is unusually rewarded with a night’s stay during the low season. Her family inevitably joins, and as a result, they are misidentified as affluent by a few guests. The entire family’s stay is suddenly prolonged by circumstances that benefit the new owners, eventually making the reward less desirable as they all become ensnared by the hotel’s repetitive and hedonistic labyrinth that distorts time.