Oliver Hermanus
Oliver HERMANUS (1983, South Africa) started his career as a press photographer. He studied at the University of Cape Town and received a scholarship for the University of California. In 2006 he was offered a private scholarship by film director Roland Emmerich to complete his MA at the London Film School. His earlier films Shirley Adams (2009) and Beauty (2011) were both screened at IFFR. In 2015, The Endless River became the first South African film to be nominated for the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. Moffie (2019) premiered in the Horizons section of Venice Film Festival and won the Mermaid Award for best LGBTQI-themed film at the 60th edition of Thessaloniki International Film Festival. He later directed Living (2022), which premiered at Sundance and screened at Venice. In 2025, Hermanus competed for the Palme d’Or at Cannes with The History of Sound, starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor.
Filmography
The Second Floor (2005, doc), Interior (2007, short), Yumna (2007, short), Shirley Adams (2009), Skoonheid/Beauty (2011), #FOBLO (2013, web series), The Endless River (2015), Moffie (2019), Living (2022), The History of Sound (2025)
More info:
Oliver Hermanus
Wikipedia, Oliver Hermanus
Oliver Hermanus op IFFR
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The History of Sound
Oliver Hermanus | 128' | USA | Dutch Premiere
A bittersweet chronicle of the relationship between two music students in the early 20th century, starring Paul Mescal and Josh O’Connor. -
Moffie
Oliver Hermanus | 103' | South Africa | None
A young conscript seeks space to express his homosexuality in the suffocating atmosphere of apartheid-era South Africa. -
The Endless River
Against the background of the vast South-African landscape, three people get caught up in a violent cycle of grief, anger and revenge. A moral narrati -
Skoonheid
Oliver Hermanus | 99' | France | None
Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. So does obsession. Beauty is set in a South Africa we seldom see: white suburbia, where people… -
Shirley Adams
Oliver Hermanus | 91' | South Africa | None
Since her son Donovan was shot at a year ago, Shirley Adams from Cape Town finds herself facing problems. Because her child sinks deeper and…