Ode to the Troublemakers

Nelson Mandela's birth name, Rolihlahla, colloquially means "troublemaker." Ode to the Troublemakers takes that word and reframes it — not as something to be ashamed of, but as the force behind every meaningful step toward justice. The film honors Madiba's legacy while making the case that the world still needs people willing to make "good trouble."

I led the creative direction on a film built from Mandela's official historical archive — the challenge being to bridge past and present without turning his story into a museum piece. Working with Edelman, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, visual production house Flavor, and Bumblebeat on audio, we reinterpreted archival footage through a contemporary visual language of design, editing, and animation: a dialogue between history and the present moment, not a retrospective.

Working with material that tells the story of one of the most influential people in our country's history — and the world's — was something I don't take lightly. It was a chance to help shape how Mandela's story is told to a generation that needs to hear it.