DR NIKKI COMNINOS (SAGE)
Director - Editor - Story Consultant
Hi, I'm Nikki - a South African director and editor with twenty years of experience crafting complex narratives into compelling visual storytelling. I believe that editing and directing are not separate disciplines but a continued creative conversation - and that doing both is what makes me sharper at each. My work has screened at IDFA, Berlinale, Locarno, DOK Leipzig, Annecy, and numerous local and international festivals, and has featured on global platforms including Netflix and Showmax. Highlights of my career include a Golden Bear nomination at the Berlin Film Festival and a win at the Vienna Shorts Film Festival (Oscar-qualifying), both for the experimental short I edited, Cause of Death.
I choose work that challenges perceptions (mine and the audience's). Filmmaking is alchemy and I enjoy collaborating with teams who share curiosity, integrity, and a commitment to the craft of filmmaking. I believe the best narratives emerge from creative problem-solving and a willingness to follow the story where it leads. Stories need to be felt to be understood, and I love the pursuit of finding the best way to build a story world that stays with an audience.
As a director, recent work includes Showmax's audience record-breaking true crime series, 2025 SAFTA-nominated Tracking Thabo Bester and the 2024 SAFTA-nominated Convict Conman. In 2025, I directed Unspoken War, a five-part historical documentary series that explores the conflicts in South Africa, Angola, and Namibia from the 1960s to 1990s and the legacy that lingers today. And in 2026, I directed an episode of Shape Shifters on M-Net focussing on Ray McCauley.
As an editor, I hold two SAFTA wins for editing - for drama series End Game and documentary Fish Out of Water, alongside SAFTA nominations for Steinheist seasons 1 and 2, Devilsdorp, Murder in Paris, and Indians Can't Fly. I also won Best Editor award at the Beirut Short Film Festival (Cause of Death). In 2022 I was recognised by the American Cinema Editors (ACE) in their International Partnership, and have held the South African Guild of Editors (SAGE) acronym for distinguished editors since 2013.
Whether directing or editing, I'm a story strategist at heart. I work across all production phases - from early conceptualisation and research through to final delivery - with particular expertise in long-form and multi-episode series. During my career, I have earned the nickname comrade supercuts :)
Beyond production, I have a strong academic background giving me a critical thinking approach to my work. My 2015 PhD focused on home video, personal history and memory. I lecture and supervise at Wits University, Open Window, AFDA and Botswana Ignite, and have served as Training Manager at Big Fish School of Digital Filmmaking. I am a published author in filmmaking journals, an executive board member of the South African Guild of Editors, a Documentary Filmmakers South Africa member and a Berlinale Talent alumnus.
