Fin Pictures is headed by producer, writer-director Fin Manjoo, a South African filmmaker. Manjoo graduated with an Honours Degree in Film from the University of Cape Town. He also studied at AFDA (African Film Dramatic Art, The South African School of Motion Picture Medium) in Johannesburg.

Manjoo lived in many countries (the United States of America, Austria, England, South Africa and Serbia-Bosnia). With Fin Pictures, one of the main objectives is to create deep, thought-provoking films for all people.

After making short movies at film school, working in television, film festivals, creating corporate videos and documentaries, Manjoo’s fiction has been hailed by Southern Africa’s only International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) member Martin Botha as the best South African film and one of the best internationally (of the year). He’s also been nominated for best director and best drama (as producer) in South Africa’s national film awards in the broadcast category in the past.

In our production of Woodwind our DOP was Swiss cinematographer Nicolas Joray. His body of work spans over four decades. He’s worked with Francesco Rosi and Pasqualino de Santis (Death in Venice), and was the DOP on many films such as Oscar Nominated The Yellow Star, Bye Bye Berlusconi! and Baltic Storm. Having shot around the world, including tough environments such as Chernobyl and with extensive experience in Africa, Joray proved to be a strong choice to work under testing conditions in the Himalayas, including picturesque settings similar to his home in the Swiss Alps.

Austrian music composer Stefan Fraunberger created our soundtrack, known for his art with unconventional instruments such as dulcimers or baroque church organs. In his own words his music “reshapes the liminal conditions of culture & perception, while evoking images of sonic ambiguity.” His compositions mutate beyond the realm, “capturing otherworldly fragments and bewilderment.”

Fraunberger has developed his music from the Vienna music schools to Romania, Syria (before the war), Yemen, Central Asia, Iran, London, Belgium, Turkey, Pakistan and India. With Woodwind telling us how the power of natural sound transforms our sense of reality, it was essential for Fraunberger to not only compose music, but also design the psychological soundscapes in Bonifaz’s world.

In the acting department we’ve worked with Lead actor Leandro Taub who has recently starred in Alejandro Jodorowsky’s  Poesía sin fin (2016) (English title: Endless Poetry). The Argentine has previously written seven books, six screenplays and composed over 40 songs.

American actress Jasmin Jandreau won Best Actress at the 2013 Breckenridge International Film Festival and the 2014 Texas Attic Film Festival in Austin, for the film The Trail. Having studied singing, dance, ballet and acting, Jandreau has acted in a number of features in Europe and America, and will star in the new screen adaptation of Emily Bronte’s novel Wuthering Heights as Catherine Earnshaw.

Germany based actress Andrea Christina Furrer also hails from a ballet, singing and drama background, boasting dozens of performances from theatre to television in Europe. She played Maria in the theatre version of Andrei Tarkovsky’s Offret (Sacrifice), where she won the Ingmar Bergman Scholarship. Next she will be the lead character in Tragači.