Layla Swart

Layla Swart is an award-winning South African producer, editor and showrunner, widely regarded as one of the leading producers of her generation on the African continent. She is the co-founder of multiple award winning production house Yellowbone Entertainment and recently co-founded Thesis, a film and television production company established to develop, produce and service premium productions for the local and global market. Over the past decade, Layla has produced over twelve premium productions across film and television, with her work premiering at leading international festivals including the Toronto International Film Festival, BFI London, Busan, FESPACO and Palm Springs. Layla is the only South African producer to have two consecutive films selected as South Africa’s official submissions to the Academy Awards in the Best International Feature category, with Sew the Winter to My Skin (2019) and Knuckle City(2020). Her producing credits include the groundbreaking series Blood Psalms (Showmax/Canal+), The Queenstown Kings (Netflix), 180 (Netflix), You’re My Favourite Place (Amazon Prime Video), Gereza (Amazon Prime Video/eVOD), as well as the award-winning short films Why the Cattle Wait, Pusha Pressa Phanda and Stillborn. She is currently Creative Producer on an upcoming Netflix Original thriller series, and serves as Producer and Executive Producer across multiple Netflix Original productions currently in production and development. Beginning her career as an editor, Layla has edited more than 14 feature films and series, giving her a distinctive creative perspective that bridges story development, production and post-production. In recognition of her contribution to the South African film industry, Layla was named one of South Africa’s Forty Under 40 in 2023 and was honoured by Constitution Hill as one of 30 Women Who Shaped transformation in 30 Years of Democracy in 2024. Her work has won numerous awards and she continues to champion sustainable African production companies and globally resonant African storytelling.