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Palesa Buyeye

@pali_lesa

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#MG200Young | JCS @iemmys Award Winning writer and director |
Multi-disciplined Storyteller | Actor | Art | Fitness
Head Honcho : @abow_productions

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Reel to Reality Film Fest 2026 Presents Isthunzi: Retrospective Panel

An anchored conversation with key cast and crew, exploring the narrative background, character development and editorial process of shaping this story, from development to post production, as well as examining its impact and legacy.

Hosting the conversation is Palesa Buyeye, an actress, presenter and International Award-Winning Filmmaker. She is the recipient of the 2024 JCS International Young Creatives Award, presented by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and was named one of the 2025 M&G 200 Young South Africans.

A former entertainment journalist, Palesa has written for publications including Sowetan, Sunday Times and OkayAfrica, and has interviewed leading local and international creatives. She also works as a host and panel moderator, bringing her storytelling and on-camera experience together across film, television and live platforms.

She is the founder of A Body of Work Productions, a PR and production company dedicated to championing contemporary African stories.

Join us and Be part of the conversation at Reel to Reality Film Fest 2026.

📍 Artistry, Sandton
📅 17 October 2026
⏰ 17:30 - 19:00
🎟️ Registration link is available in our bio.

#ReeltoRealityFest #Retrospective by @pali_lesa

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10 days ago

Someone said I was giving “I’m Foxxy Cleopatra and I’m a whole lot of woman. “ 🤭🙂‍↔️ by @pali_lesa

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21 days ago

FEATURE FRIDAY ✨ Meet Palesa Buyeye — actress, filmmaker, multi-disciplinary storyteller and founder of A Body of Work Productions. A 2025 M&G 200 Young South Africans honouree and winner of the 2024 JCS International Young Creatives Award (International Emmys) for her short film Nokuthula Is Missing.

You might’ve seen her on Hard Copy 4, read her monologue “Blame” in The Market Theatre anthology (now a Wits audition piece), or caught her fitness tips in Sowetan SMag. Passionate, powerful and ready for the next challenge — yes, Top Billing Presenter search, this is who you’re looking for.

Watch this space. Watch her work. 💫

#PalesaBuyeye #FeatureFriday #Filmmaker #Actress #Storyteller #ABodyOfWork #YoungSouthAfrican #JCSAward #NokuthulaIsMissing #TopBilling #FitnessEnthusiast #MarketTheatre #WitsUniversity #SouthAfricanTalent #Proudagent #SBAM_CPT by @pali_lesa

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4 months ago

An international award winning filmmaker, actress, media specialist, fitness enthusiast and above all, a lover of stories. Like the Bugatti Veyron Vivere Diamond Edition, I am a 1 of 1 🤭

Now, I am shooting my shot @topbillingtv @sabc3 to be your next presenter.

#topbillingpresentersearch #TopBillingAudition

Thank you @futurexotics_official for hosting us and making this possible. Thank you to the amazing fam below.

Production : @chopped_x_screwed
DOP : @thabisomolatlhwa
Location : @futurexotics_official
💋: @vanessamakole @makolemade by @pali_lesa

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4 months ago

A few days ago I had the honour of hosting a Q&A for the @joburg_film_festival Opening Night, where I moderated a beautiful and inspiring conversation with @zamobleach and the incredible cast of Laundry. What a film. Thank you, Zamo, for this contribution. This conversation was “mentorship” personified. Black women filmmakers are up! Thank you @i.em.bheki for seeing me and giving me such a platform. You’re such a real one.

I also had the privilege of presenting the Best Short Film Award at the Awards Ceremony. Thank you to @clivemathibe and @2ndroundsa for the opportunity. If you know me, you know how much short films mean to me. There’s so much possibility in this space for filmmakers and our indie scene constantly reminds me just how talented we are in this country and across the continent.
I love a mic and a good chat and being able to learn and grow through this work means the world to me. JFF you really are the festival you think you are! #FeelTheFrame 🙂‍↔️🤭

MUA : @vanessamakole 💋 by @pali_lesa

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7 months ago

Realised these deserve to go on my feed because 24 hour stories aren’t enough 🙂‍↔️ by @pali_lesa

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10 months ago

A few weeks ago, we screened @mtvbasesouth The People and Mental Health at the Soweto International Film Festival, a film I had the privilege of co-writing and starring in. This project is truly special to me, and sitting on a panel with some really incredible people to talk about it was the cherry on top.

Thank you to Lebo and Egg Films for listening to the kids and always giving young filmmakers a shot. 🫶🏾🎬

S/o to MTV! 🤭

📸: @stills_by_megapixel by @pali_lesa

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10 months ago

Just entered the villa 🤭

Some candids from this week. Last frame is my fave with the sound on.

MUA : @makolemade
📸: @vanessamakole (even though she denies her talent) 💋
Hype man : @babs_xm 🫶🏾 by @pali_lesa

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a year ago

Hey! Just clearing my camera roll and stuff 🤭 by @pali_lesa

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a year ago

Just a girl with a mic photo dump 🤭

Had the opportunity of hosting some panels for @reeltorealityfest last weekend. We chatted about Film Marketing and Distribution followed by an intimate conversation on Men’s Mental Health and Masculinity within the medium of storytelling.

As a filmmaker I honestly love learning more about film through such experiences.

Thank you so much to @mbali_thefilmmaker & @behindherlensvisuals for putting me on and congratulations again on such an amazing event!

A big S/o to all the panelists who made these conversations possible. 🫶🏾

📸: @lefaditshego by @pali_lesa

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a year ago

Joining the “Let’s make Instagram fun again” wave. 🤭 by @pali_lesa

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a year ago

REEL TO REALITY FESTIVAL 2025
Presents: Marketing & Distribution panel

The panel will explore an often neglected, and misunderstood part of the filmmaking journey - Marketing and Distribution. The panel will share marketing strategies that emerging filmmakers can employ for better reach and impact for their stories, the principles of market readiness, how filmmakers can access Marketing and Distribution funding and the key mistakes that filmmakers make when applying for funding from the NFVF.

Hosted by Palesa Buyeye @pali_lesa

Palesa is an actress and International Award Winning Filmmaker who won the 2024 JCS International YoungCreatives Award presented by the International Emmy’s for her short film Nokuthula Is Missing. She is also the recipient of 2025’s M&G 200 Young South Africans Awards and the founder of A Body of Work Productions.

Her career began as an entertainment writer for Sowetan and she has written for publications such as Sunday Times, Marie Claire, Modern Wellness, Moziak, tagged and Okay Africa to name but a few. During her journalism career she interviewed individuals such as Common, Yvonne Orji, Jay
Ellis, Issa Rae, Richard Branson, Taraji P. Henson, Ruth E. Carter and South African playwright John Kani to name but a few.

As an actress, Palesa has been featured in productions such as Hard Copy 4 and was published in The Market Theatre’s anthology series- Between a Pillar and the Post, featuring her Monologue Blame.

As an entrepreneur, she owns a PR and Productions company, A Body of Work Productions which creates and shines a light on contemporary African stories. Their mission is to take African bodies of work to the world.

Taking place on the 11 of October at 16:30 at the Lang De Moun Mon. Tickets are available on Quicket and in our bio. by @pali_lesa

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a year ago