The Coin

Bongani Mlambo is a Zimbabwean South African cinematographer based in L.A. who is obsessed with telling visually creative and compelling stories and exploring the world.

Bongani’s recent projects include All Creatures Here Below, directed by Collin Schiffli, starring David Dastmalchian (Blade Runner 2049, The Dark Knight) and Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy, Jumanji); Three Days In August by Johnathan Brownlee; Upstream Color by Shane Carruth; and Woodshock, starring Kirsten Dunst. His work has won awards at the NBC Universal Short Film Festival, SXSW, The Tellys, and other festivals, and he is a 2018 Film Independent Project Involve Fellow and recipient of the 2019 ICG Emerging Cinematographer Award.

Bongani got his start camera assisting on indie features, then shooting short films and music videos, and then he eventually added commercials to his repertoire. He joined Local 600 in 2017. Beyond his artistic pursuits, Bongani loves to dance, drum, and ponder social issues and the meaning of life. He is passionate about sharing his knowledge and talents and plans to establish arts and film workshops, programs, and residencies in Zimbabwe, inspiring and helping the next generation of Africans to tell stories and pursue their dreams in the visual and performing arts.

Bongani’s Emerging Cinematographer Award film, The Coin, follows the story of a young woman who loses a jar full of lucky coins that she has been collecting since childhood while on her journey to a new country. On Chinese New Year, finding a coin hidden inside of the dumplings means the finder has a blessed year ahead. Her new life begins with a search to find the coin, tackling questions about identity and place of heritage in the face of forging one’s own path, with an emphasis on food as a vessel for cultural traditions.

The stop-motion-animation film was made as part of Film Independent’s Project Involve, over six months, including approximately 32 days of photography for a runtime of 6 minutes 40 seconds. The raw stills were shot on Canon 5D and 7D. Bongani would like to thank his fellows, collaborators, mentors, the many volunteers who felted and contributed, and his family and friends.