ZuBeDaPortiaCele

Zubeda Portia Cele is a South African filmmaker, casting director, producer and consulting producer with extensive experience across commercials, film, television and documentary. Her casting work ranges from principal and street casting to large-scale crowd coordination, with a particular strength in finding distinctive, authentic performers and managing culturally and logistically complex productions.

As a writer-director, her films include Richard Palmer, Where Are You? and Idris, Josi & Rose. She is also the South African co-producer of the award-winning Kenya–South Africa documentary Truck Mama, which had its world premiere at IDFA and has screened at international festivals including Red Sea, Hot Docs and Encounters.

Her current projects include the feature film Flowergirl and the comedy series Lady Parts, both in development. She is also working as a consulting producer on several documentary and film projects, supporting their creative development, production planning and delivery.

Working across commercial and independent filmmaking has given Cele a strong appreciation for casting as a vital part of visual storytelling—shaping character, atmosphere and the credibility of the world on screen.