Meg Rickards is a writer and director who is passionate about telling authentic human stories. She has directed a diverse range of projects, including four feature films, a feature documentary, a miniseries, and numerous short films.
Meg's most recent film is SNAKE, which was screened at the Dances with Films festival in Los Angeles and the Johannesburg International Film Festival. The film is available on Amazon Prime in Africa.
In 2021, Meg directed the highly popular television feature ATLANTIS, which was streamed on Amazon Africa and eVOD.
Meg also directed the romantic comedy KAALGAT KAREL, which she co-wrote and produced with Paul Egan in 2020. The film was released in South African cinemas and selected for several international film festivals, including the Phoenix International Genre Film Festival in the US and the Boden International Film Festival in Sweden. KAALGAT KAREL won several awards, including Best Film at the Poor Life Choices Comedy Film Festival in Los Angeles, the Gelos Comedy Film Festival in Moscow, the Lit Laughs Festival in the UK, and the Best Feature Screenplay at the Writers Guild of South Africa Muse Awards.
Meg's debut fiction feature, TESS, was released theatrically in South Africa in 2017. The film won several awards, including the Best South African Film Award at the Durban International Film Festival. TESS was screened at several international film festivals, including the BRICS International Film Festival in New Delhi, the Brussels and Gothenburg International Film Festivals, and was broadcast on HBO Eastern Europe.
Meg's first feature documentary, 1994: THE BLOODY MIRACLE, was released in April 2014. The documentary, which she co-directed with Bert Haitsma, counts down to South Africa's first democratic elections. The film was broadcast multiple times by eNCA and eTV, as well as by the Netherlands' national broadcaster VPRO. It won the Audience Award at the Durban International Film Festival and the Writers' Guild award for Best Documentary Script. The film opened the Nobel Peace Laureate Youth Summit and the Watch Africa Festival in Wales, and was screened in several UK cities as part of the Freedom Tour.
Meg holds a PhD in Film Studies and has taught extensively at several institutions, including the University of Cape Town, the University of the Western Cape, SAE, the Forward Fund Academy, and ACT.
