SHAUN SWINGLER

About

Shaun Swingler is a South African multi-award winning director of photography based between South Africa and the United Kingdom, specialising in documentary and branded work. Shaun's documentary work has focused on the intersections between security, illicit trades, organised crime, and the environment, predominantly across sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East.

In Shaun’s twelve-year career, stories have included the ongoing drug war in the Philippines, earthquake rescue in Turkey and north-west Syria, shark fishing in Congo-Brazzaville, political assassinations, vigilantism, and the illegal firearm trade in South Africa, Al-Shabaab deradicalisation in Mogadishu, the abalone trade on South Africa's Western Cape coast, wildlife trafficking in the DRC, the heroin trade in Kenya, transactional sex in Lake Malawi’s fishing communities, rebuilding efforts in Gaza, health stories in conflict-hit Central Mozambique, and a coup in Zimbabwe among many others.

For this work, Shaun has received numerous awards and accolades, most notably a South African Film and Television Award and a CNN Africa Journalist Award. Shaun's work has appeared in many international festivals and exhibitions as well as on platforms such as HBO, Disney, National Geographic, SHOWTIME, VICE News, CNN, BBC, and Al Jazeera, as well as working on branded campaigns for organisations such as adidas, Uniqlo, HSBC, WWF, Oxfam, QuickBooks and De Beers.

Shaun is also the co-author of a best-selling South African true crime book, and his feature writing and photography has been published in Rolling Stone SA, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, Harper's Magazine, and VICE.

Throughout Shaun's career, he has endeavoured to provide a nuanced, empathetic, and sensitive eye to complex and challenging stories, with the aim to create beautiful and engaging work in high pressure situations that further contributes to our understanding of the world around us.

BAFTA Connect member

HEFAT Accredited

Member of the Documentary Cinematographer’s Alliance and The Video Consortium

Awards

2021 | Encounters International Documentary Festival | SA Shorts Special Mention - Trade Secrets

2018 | South African Film and Television Award | Best Short Documentary - Nanlaban

2018 | South African Independent Film Festival | Best Documentary - Nanlaban

2017 | Ster-Kinekor Encounters Youth Jury Award | Best Short Documentary - Nanlaban

2016 | Vodacom Journalist of the Year regional co-winner | 

2016 | CNN Multichoice Africa Journalist Award co-winner |

Books

2013 Love is War: The Modimolle Monster | co-authored with Karyn Maughan. Jacana Media.

Press

https://edition.cnn.com/videos/world/2020/07/02/cape-town-photographers-south-africa-coronavirus-ia-spc.cnn

https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2018-10-26-making-of-a-mob-justice-isnt-black-and-white/

https://www.news.uct.ac.za/article/-2017-06-19-top-award-for-alumrsquos-short-film-on-philippines-drug-war

https://ijnet.org/en/story/journalist-month-shaun-swingler

https://www.news24.com/channel/TV/News/sa-journos-shine-at-cnn-multichoice-african-journalist-awards-2016-20161016

https://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2016/07/18/cnn-multichoice-african-journalist-2016-finalists-announced/

Contact

shaunswingler (at) gmail (dot) com

+44 79 847 61909

Instagram

iMDB