AFDA Durban’s senior film lecturer, Richard Green, stands as one of South Africa’s most influential film practitioners. He played key roles in major productions like Spud, District 9, Otelo Burning, and served as assistant director on Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom. As his colleague, Dr Janet van Eeden puts it: “anyone who’s put in the hard yards … refer to him as ‘the legendary Richard Green’”
In the 1990s, Richard was instrumental in M‑Net’s New Directions initiative, a program that trained previously marginalised filmmakers and produced dozens of shorts and features, playing a key role in diversifying South African television and film.
In 2012, Richard was appointed Head of Film School at AFDA’s Durban campus, bringing decades of industry experience into the classroom. He lectures in film directing, producing, and storytelling, helping to nurture a new generation of South African creatives.
In 2020, as part of his Master of Arts in Motion Picture Medium at AFDA Durban, Richard directed and co-produced the horror feature Tokoloshe: The Calling.
The film premiered at the Durban International Film Festival and later released internationally under the title Tokoloshe: An African Curse on platforms like Prime Video and VOD services in the US.
In 2022, Richard won Best Director at the Simon “Mabhunu” Sabela KZN Film & TV Awards for Tokoloshe, highlighting both his artistic skill and his ongoing contribution to the region’s creative industries.
Richard co-authored Richard Green in South African Film: Forging Creative New Directions with Prof. Keyan Tomaselli (2023). The book blends personal narrative, industry analysis, and ethnographic insight, charting the evolution of South African cinema through Richard’s experiences and ideas.
Through his teaching at AFDA and his published work, he bridges academic theory and hands-on filmmaking, offering a blueprint for storytelling that is socially engaged, inclusive, and historically conscious.