TALIA SMITH - UMAMA

South African student Talia Smith, who is currently studying at New York University (NYU) in the USA, won GOLD in the prestigious 2020 Student Academy Awards for her poignant short film ‘Umama’, based on a true life account of her ‘domestic worker’. It’s not the first award Talia has received. Earlier this month she won the First Time Female Filmmaker Award at the HER International Festival in Ireland. Talia was born and raised in SA, in a very large, tight-knit family filled with passionate storytellers, so from a young age she learnt that “keeping an audience engaged was a skill” and that you have to have a great ending. She was also drawn to filmmaking because both her mom (a producer) and father (an editor) work in the industry. Renos Nicos Spanoudes chats to Talia during Saturday’s Role on Hellenic Radio. Listen to the podcast and find out more!