Zunaid Mansoor

An award-winning South African story consultant, script editor, screenwriting and creative writing educator with 17 years of experience. He has been described by Hollywood screenwriting expert Pilar Alessandra as “Africa’s leading story consultant.” As South Africa’s Fulbright Scholar in Screenwriting, he has inspired and mentored over 10,000 filmmakers and writers. His students and clients have achieved major recognition, including Student Oscars, SAFTAs, Simon Sabela Awards, Silwerskerm Awards and Loeries. He has mentored emerging talent through Berlinale Talents Durban, Durban FilmMart, DIFF and other leading international programmes. Zunaid serves as a judge for the SAFTAs and Writers Guild of South Africa Muse Awards and has served on South Africa’s Oscar selection jury. He is a Script Editor and Film Fund Advisor for organisations including the NFVF, KZNTAFA and eThekwini Municipality’s DFO. He is Programme Director and Mentor at Byte-Sized Storytelling, supporting emerging youth filmmakers and creative writers. He has held senior academic roles, including Head of Screenwriting and Creative Writing at AFDA, and lectures at Durban University of Technology. Zunaid holds an MFA in Screenwriting from Chapman University, as well as cum laude degrees in Law and Social Sciences from UKZN. His international experience includes working with CBS and The Bold and the Beautiful, and being mentored by renowned filmmakers and screenwriters in Hollywood. A passionate advocate for African storytelling, Zunaid continues to develop the next generation of storytellers across film, television and literature.