Sam Coleman Directs Spotify's New Anthem Film, Celebrating Zulu Pride, Music & Self Discovery

At the heart of Spotify Africa’s latest campaign is the striking, emotive film “Khuphuka Nathi,” via agency Publicis Machine, directed by Sam Coleman and produced by Patriot Films; Coleman is repped stateside by RSA Films.

“Khuphuka Nathi” celebrates Zulu culture and pays homage to Zulu identity, pride and the deep musical rhythms that shape the coastal South African province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and beyond. It depicts a young boy’s journey leaving the city of Durban to travel home to his roots in rural KZN. That story of returning home is what drew award-winning director Sam Coleman to the project. 

“We travelled from Durban into the rural heartland and there the locations really came to life through the communities that we interacted with,” Coleman said. “For Spotify, one might expect something more stylistic, purely visual. Instead, the story proved an opportunity to flex that more narrative, human and emotive side of storytelling which I really enjoy.”

“ ‘Khuphuka nathi kuSpotify’ is a love letter to our Zulu-speaking listeners,” Sithabile Kachisa, head of marketing, Spotify Sub-Saharan Africa elaborated. “It’s about celebrating the pride, identity and spirit of being Zulu, and music is how we bring that story to life.” 

"The score needed to trace a journey through music, community and heritage,” Coleman said. “We paired it with a curated mix of tracks spanning traditional Zulu beats to modern genre blends like Gqom, which was born in Durban, KZN. Composer Ndabo Zulu was able to seamlessly stitch all these ingredients together into something that above all, really connected with people emotionally."

“Spotify has been growing across SA,” said Jabulani Sigege, Group Executive Creative Director of Publicis Machine. “Except the province of KwaZulu-Natal. As a brand, Spotify is about culture. Not just music culture, but music connecting to culture AND connecting cultures. This aligned perfectly with how we wanted to approach solving the issue of the Zulu audience feeling disconnected from Spotify. Our solution had to create a world in which Zulu listeners and lovers of Zulu music genres – from maskandi to gospel to gqom and more – felt at home, saw themselves as part of or aspired to be part of.”

To breathe cinematic life into the sweeping urban and rural locations in the Spotify anthem spot, Coleman and his cinematographer Pierre De Villiers chose to use a very light footprint in terms of camera and gear. “This enabled us to be very nimble, move fast and capture as much material as possible,” Coleman explained. “We combined the main camera which was a Ronin 4D all in one camera gimbal solution, with GoPro’s, insta 360’s and an FPV drone. All these small cameras in the end provided a real sense of scale.” 

Coleman is paying it forward from his creative roots in South African fashion, street culture and design, always with an eye toward showcasing Pan African youth culture: “Young African creators are definitely having a moment,” Coleman enthused. “There’s a lot of undiscovered talent here. But there’s a hunger and an insane work ethic also. Young people are pushing very hard to get onto the world stage, there's no complacency, just huge energy. And it’s great to get to harness that.” 

Other recent and widely acclaimed projects from Coleman include branded films for Red Bull and Allan Gray. 

CLIENT: Spotify South Africa

Head of Marketing RSA: Sithabile Kachisa

Consumer Marketing Manager RSA: Kevin Seturumane

AGENCY: Machine / Publicis Groupe Africa

Exec Creative Director: Peter Little

Group Exec Creative Director: Jabulani Sigege

Creative Director: Nkululeko Vilakazi

Group Head: Mantwa Toka

Copywriter: Audrey Nyamcherera

Group Account Director: Sindy Mazibuko

Senior TV Producer: Wakhile Sihole

PATRIOT FILMS

Director: Sam Coleman

Exec Producer: Zayd Halim

Senior Producer: Lauren Dugmore

Production Manager: Olivia Murdoch

Production Coordinator: Jodi Benzimra

CREW

1st AD: Graham Hickson

2nd AD: Sphelele Ndlovu

DOP: Pierre De Villiers

Art Director: Candice Drury

Wardrobe Stylist: Amy Zama

Wardrobe Assistant: Nadia Omar

H&MU: Lisa Bailey

Stills Photographer: Mike Bell

POST

Post Production (Offline): Priest Post Productions

Editor: Amelia Cohen

Post Producer: Michelle Duvenage

VFX Artist: Hilton Henstock

Post Production (Online): The Refinery

Colourist: Kyle Stroebel

VFX Supervisors: Rory Mark & Eddie Addinall

Post Producer: Simone Fanti

MUSIC

Aquanote Productions

Engineer: Lovemore Nkuna

Music: Ndabo Zulu

LEAD

Manqoba Khumalo