#Newsmaker: Fort appoints Earl Abrahams, a director with a passion for social development

Earl Abrahams is the newest director to join Fort. Image supplied.

Abrahams was raised in Bonteheuwel on the Cape Flats and has since relocated to Johannesburg where he has been building a name for himself as a director, photographer and cinematographer.

His background and passion for social development and the NPO sector, along with the personal experiences from growing up on the Cape Flats have significantly contributed to the way he sees, experiences and how he captures the world.

According to Earl, content creation should be concerned with sharing stories, experiences and possibly giving a face and voice to those that might otherwise not have the platform. He passionately explores themes around identity, segregation and human-centric stories of the South African people and brands.

We caught up with him and asked him to share more about his career and highlights throughout, what’s at the top of his to-do list and what he is most excited about, in joining the Fort team.

Congrats on your appointment. How do you feel about it?

Thank you so much! I feel extremely honoured to be joining the Fort team and I’m looking forward to an exciting journey ahead in crafting out impactful stories.

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Jessica Tennant  29 Nov 2017

When is/was the effective date?

I started with Fort on the 9 September 2019.

What excites you most about the agency and where it’s going?

What excites me most about Fort is their collaborative approach to working/telling stories and their desire to shape and share a new narrative of Africa to the world.

What do you love most about your career in film/photography in general?

What I love most about my careers is the opportunity I get to work on different projects that challenges me to consistently get better at my craft.

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Robin Fredericks  12 Sep 2017

Any career highlights you’re particularly proud of?

One highlight that I’m particularly proud of is having had the opportunity to exhibit a body of work titled Flexpression at the Institut Suedois in Paris earlier this year.

Tell us a bit about your experience and how this has equipped you for your new position.

I believe my background and passion for social development and the NPO sector, and my experience in both documentary and commercial photography, has significantly contributed to the way I see the world and has to give me the tools to take on this new journey/position with both hand.

Storytelling, to me, is all about collaboration and my experiences have most certainly equipped with the skills to co-create human-centric content.

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Tom Manners  27 Jan 2017

What are you most looking forward to/enjoying so far?

I’m looking forward to growing and carving out a name for myself within the commercial/film industries and being a part of sharing and creating impactful stories that would shape the way we see ourselves and our continent.

What’s at the top of your to-do list (at work)?

On the top of my to-do list is directing impactful stories - I’m currently busy with a pitch, looking at highlighting young South Africans doing amazing work around the world… watch the space!

View this post on Instagram

Bts shot of @castersemenya800m on a @rudeboy_collective set for @discovery_sa! @theworldnow —— DOP: @rudeboy_collective Producer: @subzhero100 Production Manager: @jade_manuel AD: @grantrisseeuw Focus Puller: Jonny Papas —— Shot on the #fujifilm #x100f @fujifilm_sa @fujifilm_global @fujifilmeu #myfujifilmsa #fujifilmsa #portrait #btsphotography #behindthescenes #behindthescenesphotography

A post shared by Earl Abrahams (@earl_a_) on May 12, 2019 at 9:27pm PDT

I’m currently reading the 5am Club by Robin Sharma. It’s not directly linked to my current job, however, the principles in his book are definitely assisting me in developing a robust plan to be more effective at the work I do and to map out the stories I desire to be a part of telling.

Tell us something about yourself not generally known?

I used to be a semi-professional rollerblader and competed in the Asian X Games in China about six years ago.