Jarryd Coetsee (born 5 August 1982) is a South African writer and filmmaker. His short film, ''The Suit'' won numerous international awards.

Early life and education

Coetsee was born in

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

where he attended

Pretoria Boys High School Pretoria Boys High School (colloquially known as "Boys High") is a public, Tuition payments, tuition-charging, English language, English-medium high school for boys situated in the suburb of Brooklyn, Pretoria, Brooklyn in Pretoria in the Gauten ...

. When he was 19, he was a Semi-Finalist in the Chesterfield Writers' Fellowship originated at

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg ( ; born December 18, 1946) is an American filmmaker. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, Spielberg is widely regarded as one of the greatest film directors of all time and is ...

Amblin Entertainment Amblin' Entertainment, Inc., formerly named Amblin Productions, is an American film production company founded by director and producer Steven Spielberg, and film producers Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall in 1980. Its headquarters are lo ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

. He completed a Master of Arts in Screenwriting at the London Metropolitan Film School (Met Film School) at

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in west London, England. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on th ...

, part of the

University of West London The University of West London (UWL) is a public research university in the United Kingdom with campuses in Ealing, Brentford, and Reading, Berkshire. The university has roots in 1860 when the Lady Byron School was founded, later Ealing Colleg ...

. Initially, he was accepted into a Master's program in Filmmaking but chose to shift his focus to Screenwriting midway through. Coetsee was awarded a merit scholarship from the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust for his talent and portfolio, as well as the Voices That Matter Scholarship, aimed at supporting diversity, inclusion, and accessibility in the screen industries. Before his studies in London, Coetsee was accepted into the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

to pursue a Master of Studies (MSt) in the History of Art, and was a finalist for the

Chevening Scholarship The Chevening Scholarship is an international scholarship, funded by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and partner organizations, that enables foreign students to study at universities in the United Kingdom. History The C ...

of the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. However, he chose to follow his passion for screenwriting and filmmaking. Coetsee also holds a Master of Arts Degree in English Literature which he passed with cum laude distinction from the

University of Stellenbosch Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

, where he authored a thesis on themes of identity in the 1970s East African

travel literature The genre of travel literature or travelogue encompasses outdoor literature, guide books, nature writing, and travel memoirs. History Early examples of travel literature include the '' Periplus of the Erythraean Sea'' (generally considered a ...

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The population of Trinidad is notably diverse, with approximately 35% Indo-Trinidadian, 34% ...

author

Shiva Naipaul Shiva Naipaul (; 25 February 1945 – 13 August 1985), born Shivadhar Srinivasa Naipaul in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, was an Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian, Indo-Trinidadian and British novelist and journalist. Life and work Shiva Na ...

. Additionally, he has a Bachelor of Arts with Honors in Film Studies from the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

and studied

Filmmaking Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

and

Film Production Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

at South African institutions, including AFDA (the South African School of Motion Picture Medium and Live Performance) in

Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

, and South Africa's oldest film school, the Motion Picture Academy at Pretoria Technikon (now the

Tshwane University of Technology Tshwane University of Technology (TUT; ) is a higher education institution in South Africa that came into being through a merger of three technikons — Technikon Northern Gauteng, Technikon North-West and Technikon Pretoria. As the number of ...

). Coetsee has contributed to the industry as a juror at the Scotland African Film Festival in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

and

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

Career

His short film, ''The Suit'', won numerous international awards including the Best Short Film Award at the 11th SAFTAs and has been shown in 83 cities and towns in over 20 countries. The film features performances by Tony Award-winner

John Kani Bonisile John Kani (born 30 August 1942) is a South African actor. He is known for portraying T'Chaka in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016) and ''Black Panther'' (2018), Rafiki in ''The Lion King'' (201 ...

and Atandwa Kani. Three of the film festivals for which it was selected are Oscar qualifiers (Urbanworld Film Festival,

Pan African Film Festival Pan African Film Festival (PAFF) is a non-profit corporation in Los Angeles, California, United States, that states its goal is to promote "cultural understanding among peoples of African descent" through exhibiting art and film. It hosts a film ...

and BronzeLens Film Festival). Coetsee was the only filmmaker from Africa selected by the

Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, th ...

for its prestigious Les Nuits en Or 2017 (Golden Nights 2017) which saw him participate in film-related programmes in France, Italy and Greece, and receiving an award from

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

at its headquarters, the

World Heritage Centre UNESCO Headquarters, or Maison de l'UNESCO, is a building inaugurated on 3 November 1958 at number 7 Place de Fontenoy in Paris, France, to serve as the headquarters for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ...

, in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

for ''The Suit'' which was selected as one of the thirty top short films from around the world.

Filmography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coetsee, Jarryd 1982 births Living people Alumni of the University of Oxford Alumni of the University of West London South African film directors South African male film actors South African male writers Stellenbosch University alumni University of Cape Town alumni Alumni of Pretoria Boys High School