Jenna Bass

Jenna Bass
Bass in 2018
Born
Jenna Cato Bass

1986 (age 39–40)
London, England
EducationAFDA
Occupations
  • Film director
  • screenwriter
  • writer
Years active2010–present

Jenna Cato Bass (born 1986) is a British-born South African film director, screenwriter, and author. She has written short stories under the pseudonym Constance Myburgh, one of which was shortlisted for the 2012 Caine Prize for African Writing.

Early life and education

Jenna Cato Bass was born in 1986 London, England, and grew up in South Africa.

She practised magic at the College of Magic.[citation needed] She went on to graduate from the Cape Town campus of AFDA, The School for the Creative Economy.

Career

Writing

In 2011 Bass founded Jungle Jim, a genre fiction magazine. Bass first started using a pseudonym, Constance Myburgh, in 2011, to keep her author profile separate from her role as a screenwriter in the film industry.

Issue 6 featured her noir detective story 'Hunter Emmanuel', featuring an investigation into a dismembered prostitute. The story was shortlisted for the Caine Prize for African Writing in 2012.

Filmmaking

Bass's first feature film, Love the One You Love (2014), was shot on a "nano-budget" using hand-held consumer cameras and a partly improvised script. The film told the story of a sex phone operator negotiating her relationship with her boyfriend and considering a move to Korea. The film won Best South African Feature Film at the 2014 Durban International Film Festival.

High Fantasy (2017) is a satirical thriller about a group of young travellers who mysteriously exchange their bodies on a camping trip. Shot on iPhones, using improvisation, the film explores "the messy tangle of race, class and gender identity in modern-day South Africa."

Flatland (2019), a woman led "South African kitsch-western genre mashup", was shot on a larger budget. Natalie and Poppie flee their rural town on horseback after Natalie murders the local pastor on her wedding night. Detective Beauty Cuba is determined not to let them get away. It was chosen as the opening film in the 2019 Berlinale Panorama.

Mlungu Wam (Good Madam) (2021) is a horror-psychological thriller set in the upper-class, suburban and mostly white suburb of Constantia, Cape Town.[citation needed]

Future Tense is a speculative fiction/thriller film involving time travel that examines the effects of colonialism in South Africa, with three narrative strands, starring Lawrence Maleka and Kristen Raath. A co-production of South Africa and Australia, the film was written and directed by Bass and produced by Kristina Ceyton, Samantha Jennings, and Hisham Samie. Future Tense had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2026 and is set to screen at the Adelaide Film Festival on 16 October 2026. It has been generally well-reviewed.

Publications

Short stories

Filmography

Year Title Director Writer Producer Cinematographer Other Notes
2010 The Tunnel Yes Yes Yes Part of Africa First: Volume One
2014 Love the One You Love Yes Yes Yes Yes Editor, production designer
2017 High Fantasy Yes Yes Yes Yes
2018 Rafiki Yes
2019 Sizohlala Yes Yes Short film
2019 Flatland Yes Yes
2019 Neighbours Yes
2021 Good Madam Yes Yes Yes Yes Production designer, Casting
2021 Tug of War Yes
2026 Future Tense Yes Yes

References

  1. 1 2 "Jenna Cato Bass". Moscow Film Festival. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  2. 1 2 "High Fantasy". Berlinale. 20 February 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Alison Flood, 'African Booker' shortlist offers an alternative view of continent, The Guardian, 1 May 2012.
  4. ↑ Ryman, Geoff (3 March 2017). "Constance Myburgh a.k.a. Jenna Bass". Strange Horizons. Retrieved 6 November 2024.
  5. ↑ Tymon Smith, Movie Review: 'Love the One You Love' is a cinematic treat, The Sunday Times, 18 September 2015.
  6. ↑ Baldwin Ndaba; Therese Owen; Masego Panyane (2019). The Black Consciousness Reader. OR Books. p. 341. ISBN 978-1-68219-172-9.
  7. ↑ Christopher Vourlias, South Africa’s Jenna Bass Explores Race, Class and Gender in ‘High Fantasy’, Variety, July 21, 2019.
  8. ↑ Andrew Gutman, Berlinale first look: Flatland is an intriguingly kitsch South African western, Sight & Sound, 27 August 2019.
  9. ↑ Mayer, Sophie. "Berlinale 2019 Review: Flatland". berlinfilmjournal.com. Archived from the original on 23 February 2019. Retrieved 6 October 2026.
  10. 1 2 3 "Future Tense". Adelaide Film Festival. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  11. ↑ Keast, Jackie (5 August 2026). "'God Bless You, Mr Kopu', 'Future Tense' to premiere at TIFF". IF Magazine. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  12. 1 2 Musnicky, Sarah (14 September 2026). "Future Tense Review: A Stripped Down Sci-Fi Affair With Real Heart". But Why Tho?. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  13. 1 2 Jhunjhunwala, Ankit (15 September 2026). "'Future Tense' Review: Jenna Cato Bass Reimagines Time Travel As A Provocative Colonial Reckoning [TIFF]". The Playlist. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  14. ↑ "Future Tense (2026)". Rotten Tomatoes. 22 September 2026. Retrieved 10 October 2026.
  15. ↑ Caine Prize (2012). The Caine Prize for African Writing 2012. New Internationalist. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-78026-075-4.