Digby C. Young dropped out of Pretoria University and the Pretoria Onderwyskollege in 1973 to hop on the shiny new SABC TV bus. Although nearly fired as a ‘kommunis’, he eventually became Principal Film Cameraman. The prospect of a desk job scared him away to Helsinki, Finland, where he freelanced as a DOP on commercials for two years while writing his first film script. A short trip back to South Africa in 1981 to shoot the film became permanent when the project collapsed and local TV Drama contracts piled up six months in advance.
  He then co-wrote several TV series for the then separate and not at all equal ‘black’ TV channels while directing hundreds of TV commercials. Taking yourself seriously while selling frozen chicken is a mental-health hazard, so he escaped by helping his casting director wife, Christa Schamberger-Young set up her studio. Between castings, Digby tends the fires of guerrilla filmmaking with keen young actors and directors, or holes up in his lair to write at ‘the clunker’.

DIGBY'S WORK FOR SW:

ON THE ROAD AGAIN -
Originally published in SW#2

Also available as a PODCAST