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Romantha Botha

@therealroman

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Tedx Speaker | Filmmaker | Former journo | Cultural Archivist
Email: [email protected]

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TedxGeorge 2026 : The Truth Is…

When I was asked to be a speaker at this year’s Tedx event in my home town, it felt aligned. Like I had been preparing for this long before I knew it would ever happen. The little girl from Pacaltsdorp was screaming!

And although I had commitment issues about what I’d talk about at first, (I mean how do I choose?!) I knew I’d have to speak to how we engage with the truth and the ways in which we hide from it. Or debate about who gets to speak the truth. And the ways in which we fight about who’s truth is more important.

On here I talk about many hidden truths of our past and our present, but I had yet to make a call for us to reckon with what that truly meant. How it influences the micro details of our lives and how it stops us from expanding, unlearning or taking accountability.

So I did. As openly and candidly as a diverse audience could allow me to be. And I hope that when you see it, you too will allow yourself to feel the points of resistance within you when being confronted by your truth.

And most importantly, that you too will commit to the process of learning and unlearning. Because friends, we won’t have the luxury for much longer. (Talk for another day).

@tedxgeorge you owe me nothing. That you for the care, the guidance and the confidence in my work. taken in South Africa by @therealroman

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2 months ago

I was not going to pass on a moment to teach the Wayans brothers Kaaps! How did they do?

Scary Movie 6 out this week, 5 June 2026!
Stiek uit jou bang ding! by @therealroman

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5 months ago

So honoured to be a part of this years cohort of the Mail and Guardian Young 200 list. taken in South Africa by @therealroman

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2 months ago

Pimps, “prostitutes” & Profits by @therealroman

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3 days ago

The city the mining industry engineered. by @therealroman

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5 days ago

I’m proud of how ordinary South Africans are able to speak about how they identify and why. We have come a long way- no matter how we identify.

Thank you to the team at @dw_the77percent for holding space for a complex conversation. by @therealroman

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12 days ago

SPEAKER: ROMANTHA BOTHA

Romantha Botha is a South African documentary filmmaker, former journalist, and digital cultural archivist who works between Johannesburg and London. Through her company, Watchman Productions, she creates work that explores history, identity, language, and power, and asks who gets to tell the story.

She began as a field reporter and producer on national Afrikaans current affairs and investigative journalism programmes before moving behind the camera. She wrote and hosted the Showmax documentary series Sex & Pleasure, which earned a SAFTA nomination, as well as Jou Mase Taal, an Afrikaans docuseries about the lived experiences of Black native speakers. She has also co-produced podcasts, including Dope Black Dads and The Marvyn Harrison Podcast.

For an audience of more than 200k across social media, Romantha turns academic research, archives, and books into short video essays that make colonial history and cultural memory accessible, especially for Africans. Her collaborators include Greenpeace International, Greenpeace Africa, KykNET, and 54 Magazine.

Her TEDxGeorge Women talk in August, The Truth Is…, questioned the promise of the Rainbow Nation and challenged South Africans to recognise the inherited truths about one another that keep them divided and to take responsibility for unlearning them.

She was also named in the prestigious Mail & Guardian 200 Young South Africans 2026 (Arts, Culture and Entertainment) and is a longlist judge for the British Podcast Awards 2026. Her work is driven by one value: the courage to tell it like it is.

*Click link in the bio to register now*
October 29, 6pm-7pm GMT

#BHM2026 #HonouringOurCommunities taken in United Kingdom by @therealroman

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14 days ago

On Friday I got to hear the artist speak first hand about her work in conversation with me on @rsgradio with presenter Udo Carelse.

Before this interview, I was invited by the Castle of Good Hope and various role players to discuss the event in its entirety and I will allow it to take its course before I engage on this again. Until now, I’ve only questioned the artists intentions publicly, yet this was a larger organisational decision.

So I will allow the discussions to run its course before any further comment - but THIS, is our point of departure from the artists perspective.

(Link in bio)
Read : https://romantha.substack.com/p/jesus-mary-and-krotoa?r=58srwm&utm_medium=ios by @therealroman

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14 days ago

We ask “What do we do about the state of South Africa” the answers have always been there. Our president is constantly “shocked “ by our plight but when they see reports like these they ignore them, shelve them with the other piles of useless paperwork they can’t be bothered to address.

What we don’t need is quick fixes or magic bullets. What we don’t need is a government who thinks like they’re stomachs are empty too when “investment” comes knocking that yields little to no results for the people at the lower end of society.

We know very well that a hungry human makes no sound decision. They believe the first person who says they’ll feed them.

ThIS is why we’re seeing what we’re seeing today. Polarisation, scapegoating, groupthink! WE ARE HUNGRY! Except some of us chow the resources at the cost of everyone else.

So I’ll wait, for the next “shocking” wave of hunger pains to come. And for our leaders to be shocked that no one warned them. by @therealroman

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17 days ago

South Africa’s heavy reliance on coal is a human rights crisis, threatening thousands of premature deaths and costing hundreds of billions in health impacts. ⁣
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Sinking money into coal means subsidising sickness and locking in higher healthcare costs for generations.⁣
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Sign the petition to demand that the government halt coal expansion, prioritize communities around the coal plants, and invest in youth-led renewable energy solutions 🌍✊⁣
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Petition Link In Bio ⁣@greenpeaceafrica
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#StopCoal #JustTransition #ClimateJustice by @therealroman

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18 days ago

Welcome to my inner sanctum : A space where I share the parts of myself I don’t have answers to yet.

Subscribe now before it becomes too crowded in here. by @therealroman

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18 days ago

When ancestral rage consumes you, write.

https://romantha.substack.com/p/keep-your-imagination-to-yourself?r=58srwm&utm_medium=ios by @therealroman

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20 days ago