who we are
WRITER / DIRECTOR
EXECUTIVE
PRODUCER / PHOTOGRAPHER
SOCIAL
ENTREPENEUR
NON-PROFIT CEO
BRYAN GARRICK LITTLE
WRITER | DIRECTOR
Bryan Garrick Little is an award-winning film director residing in Cape Point. Known for his his imaginative and striking visual style, as well as a sensitive connection to his subject matter, Bryan’s films offer viewers an emotional voyage into the heart of the narrative. Early works like the award winning film 'FOKOFPOLISIEKAR' explore the complexities of Afrikaner youth identity in post-Apartheid South Africa. Followed by 'THE AFRICAN CYPHER' - a deep immersion into the country's diverse street dance sub cultures, Bryan was the only director to win the prestigious Encounters International Film Festival Best Documentary Award with his first two feature documentaries, Bryan was nominated for an African Academy Award and named in the Shots Top 50 young directors in the world.
After the tragic death of the lead dancer from The African Cypher, Bryan quit
commercial filmmaking and soaked himself in the Atlantic - camping and surfing with a
feral family of scientists, surfers, artists, musicians, and fellow ocean lovers in a celebration of our wild nature.
This has led him to make two films about the west coast and the immersion has focussed his attention to telling stories that explore the human relationship to the wilderness;
the fluctuating complex intertidal where culture, ecology, biology and spirit meet.
Bryan is seeking ways to dedicate his craft to honour the earth.
ANA-FILIPA DOMINGUES
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER | PHOTOGRAPHER
Ana-Filipa Domingues is an award winning film producer and stills photographer. Filipa co-founded Fly on the Wall films with Bryan in 2004 and went on to produce three feature documentaries and commercial work for International brands; MTV Europe, National Geographic, Discovery Channel, Adidas, Nokia, Adobe, USAID amongst others.
Her photographic work has been featured on the covers of numerous magazines including a spread in National Geographic. Fil’s latest photography venture, “CheckMyPlants” is photographing rare and unusual plants using only natural light. This work was featured on CNN Inside Africa “Through the lens” and led her to tell her story on the TEDx platform. Fil’s work has been widely covered in media and included in various fine art photographic exhibitions.
If you don’t find Fil camping out in the garden in full camouflage gear, to quietly capture the image of a sunbird drinking from an aloe, you will likely find her making hand-pressed tacos, cooking wild harvested kelp or engaging in some other spectacular operation.
ROBERT PADDOCK
SOCIAL ENTREPENEUR
Rob is a social entrepreneur largely focussed on education technology in Africa. Rob is the Co-founder of GetSmarter (acquired by 2U), Hubble Studios (acquired by Noodle) and Valenture Institute. Rob a founding board member of Injini, Africa’s first not-for-profit EdTech incubator, and an advisor to, and investor in, a number of online education companies in Africa and abroad. He is also the founding trustee of the iBhodi Trust, a bold not-for-profit project to create a new blueprint for delivering high-quality, affordable education to students throughout South Africa who need it most.
Whilst recognized for his contributions to education, Rob is known by his community for his musical talent, his dedication to wildlife and his deep care for the well-being of all living things. Rob's enterprising background provides a stabilizing presence within the eARTh agency, serving as both a guiding/clarifying and strategic influence/force. Rob lives in Cape Town with his wife, Ash, and their three children.
SHANI VAN STRAATEN
NON-PROFIT CEO
Shani’s career began as a clueless production skivvy for Fly on the Wall films. Since then, she has amassed an army of experience and skills across the television, film, corporate social investment and nonprofit sectors. At the Natural History Unit at E.tv she quickly climbed the ranks from production coordinator to Brand Manager, and then Festival Manager of the former Wild Talk Africa – a leading natural history film and television conference. During this time, she also managed the BBC’s Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition and represented content on the international market.
After ten years in film, she made the jump into the nonprofit sector when she became manager of African Bank Development Trust. In 2018 she was approached by a South African YouTube influencer to launch a new nonprofit company which she has grown into an internationally recognized conservation organization. After seventeen years, Shani’s career has come full circle to work with Bryan and Filipa in a space that merges filmmaking, nonprofit work and conservation.
