Meekaaeel Adam SASC, DGSA

"One of South Africa's most daring new voices" - Variety

Meekaaeel Adam made history at Fantasporto as the first South African filmmaker to compete in the festival's 45-year run, winning the Jury Award for his debut feature THE TREK (2026), in which he took on dual roles as director and DOP.

Childhood trips to the local drive-in in Durban inspired his love for cinema, and by the time he graduated from the University of Cape Town with a triple-major in Film and Media Studies, he was already working on professional sets.

His debut as DOP on the South African political thriller THE LAST VICTIMS (2019) announced him as a talent to watch, picking up over 20 awards at festivals worldwide and earning him a RapidLion nomination for Best Cinematography.

Meekaaeel's narrative, documentary, and commercial work has aired on MNet, Kyknet, SABC, Showmax, Amazon Prime, and Netflix. His mastery of the technical and creative sides of filmmaking allows him to work as both cinematographer and director-DOP, as on Netflix's STORIES OF A GENERATION WITH POPE FRANCIS (2022).

Meekaaeel has a U.S. B1/B2 visa and is represented by Exposure (South Africa).

Press

Nominations

  • Best First-Time Director, DGSA Creatives Awards 2026 (‘The Trek’ dir: Meekaaeel Adam)

  • Best Feature Film, DGSA 2026 Creatives Awards (‘The Trek’ dir: Meekaaeel Adam)

  • Best Cinematography, DGSA 2026 (‘The Trek’ dir: Meekaaeel Adam)

  • Best Online Content 2025, SAFTAs (‘Politically Aweh’ dir: Stephen Horn)

  • Best Cinematography, Rapid Lion 2019 (‘The Last Victims’ dir: Maynaard Kraak)

Notable Festival Selections

  • Fantasporto 2026 (‘The Trek’ dir: Meekaaeel Adam)

  • ARFF Berlin 2023 (‘MoveMe’ dir: Briana Evigan)

  • Cannes Film Festival 2022 (‘Nobunto’ dir: Sihle-isipho Nontshokweni) 

  • Durban International Film Festival 2019 (‘The Last Victims’ dir: Maynard Kraak)

Awards

  • Jury Award 2026, Fantasporto Film Festival (‘The Trek’ dir: Meekaaeel Adam)

  • SASC Visible Spectrum Award 2024, Won SILVER for Feature Film (‘The Trek’ dir: Meekaaeel Adam)

  • Best Documentary 2023, Las Vegas Movie Awards (‘MoveMe’: dir Briana Evigan)

  • Best Online Content 2023, SAFTAs (‘Politically Aweh’ dir: Stephen Horn)

  • Special Recognition 2022, Silicon Valley African Film Festival (‘Nobunto’ dir: Sihle-isipho Nontshokweni)

  • Best International Feature Film 2019, Uganda Film Festival (‘The Last Victims’ dir: Maynard Kraak)