About Street Talk
“We are currently filming our thirteenth season of Street Talk TV and continue to be humbled, inspired and moved by the incredible stories we discover.”
Richard Mills
What we do
Since our first show in 2008, we’ve broadcast more than 600 episodes of our popular programme to audiences across South Africa. We reach 4 million people via Cape Town TV (Western Cape) and Mpuma Kapa TV (Eastern Cape) – both of which are free-to-air channels and are also available on DSTV.
We believe in what we do. Our 15-minute inserts are helping to build a better society by encouraging active citizenship through discussion. From Khayelitsha’s informal settlements to Camps Bay’s mansions, we cross ethnic, religious, political, gender, economic, cultural and other boundaries to report on topical issues affecting ordinary people.
Our approach is simple. We give communities a voice.
Our Aims and Objectives
We promote active citizenship through the medium of film.
Our documentary films:
- Give ordinary people a voice
- Reflect the views and experiences of ordinary people
- Cross class, cultural, ethnic identity, social, economic, lifestyle and religious boundaries
- Change perceptions, break communication barriers and promote tolerance and understanding between individuals and communities
- Inspire people to become active citizens
- Train previously disadvantaged individuals in film making skills.
Our Episodes
Street Talk’s cameras go behind closed doors to capture the gritty realism of life in South Africa.
Our researchers live and work in their communities. They tune in to word on the street to identify the issues that matter to people.
In each episode, we join an intimate circle of carefully selected participants who share their views, experiences, challenges, hopes and dreams. We let them talk and record what unfolds.
Our Team
In 2008 documentary makers Jo Menell and Richard Mills founded Street Stories Films as they believe that expression and participation in public processes strengthens democracy.
We make documentaries, including the Street Talk TV series, in which people talk about their lives and real issues affecting them.
Our small team is big on sharing knowledge and experience.
We have nurtured several previously disadvantaged Capetonians in various aspects of filmmaking. Thembela Dick is a valuable member of our management team, while several former interns currently work in the film industry.
Street Stories Films is registered as a Non-Profit Organisation with the Department of Social Services and as a Public Benefit Organisation with the South African Revenue Services.
Our Board
A board oversees Street Stories.
Current board members are:
- Barbara Masekela
- Shelley Barry
- Jo Menell (Director)
- Richard Mills (Director)
Other members of our team
