Actor and producer Salamina Mosese has penned a heartfelt birthday tribute to her friend and business partner Stephina Zwane.
Long before they were producing Netflix films and running their own production company, Salamina Mosese and Stephina Zwane were just two young girls with big dreams and, as Mosese puts it, “questionable hairstyles” – presenting a children’s TV programme on e.tv and building what would become one of the most enduring friendships in the South African entertainment industry.
Mosese marked Zwane’s birthday this week with a lengthy, warm tribute on Instagram, reflecting on nearly three decades of shared history.
“What do you even say to someone whom you have loved and cherished for 27 years and who has seen all versions of you?” she wrote, addressing her friend, collaborator and co-founder of their shared production company.
“These photos are proof that we existed before husbands, before children, before businesses, before responsibilities, and before we started making noises every time we sat down or stood up. We’ve gone from carefree girls with big dreams and questionable hairstyles to women juggling families, work, deadlines, school calendars, and an 11-year-old business,” she added, illustrating just how far they have come.
Where it all began
The two women first met as teenagers on the e.tv youth variety programme Craz-E, where they worked as presenters and actresses. Mosese was just 13 when she started working, and the experience marked the beginning of a friendship and eventually a working relationship that would prove remarkably durable.
After graduating from university, where Zwane studied journalism and Mosese studied corporate communications, they both continued with acting and presenting before eventually deciding to launch their own company.
Two careers, one vision
Both women went on to build substantial individual careers before joining forces professionally.
Mosese became a household name across multiple formats: she is known for her roles on Soul Buddyz, Backstage, 7de Laan and Abo Mzala, as well as for presenting on Craz-E and Top Billing.
In 2013, she won a SAFTA Golden Horn Award for Best Actress in Comedy for her role in the sitcom Abo Mzala, a recognition that cemented her standing as one of the country’s most versatile on-screen performers.
Zwane, meanwhile, made the transition from in front of the camera to behind it. She went on to work as an actress, producer, director, writer and presenter across numerous television series, including Scandal!, Backstage, Heartlines, Gaz’lam, Soul Buddyz and Craz-E. After writing and directing her first TV film in 2012, she moved to feature films, writing and directing Love and Kwaito in 2016, which was an official selection for the Jo’burg Film Festival.
In 2023, she took home the National Film and TV Award for Best Director, a milestone that underscored just how far she had come from her presenting days.
Building Sorele Media
The friendship eventually found its natural business expression when the two launched Sorele Media, a film production company that Zwane co-founded with Mosese.
Together, they have produced four feature films along with TV content for major corporates in South Africa, with Mosese serving as producer and managing director.
Their most high-profile project to date has been Love, Sex and 30 Candles, a 2023 Netflix original directed by Zwane and based on Angela Makholwa’s novel The 30th Candle. The film follows four best friends whose close-knit bond is tested when secrets and revelations threaten to pull them apart, a story about female friendship that, in many ways, mirrors the real-life bond between its creators.
27 years and counting
In her tribute, Mosese reflected on both the lightness and the depth of what the friendship has meant to her.
“The older I get, the more I realise how rare it is to have a friend who has witnessed almost your entire life and still chooses to answer your calls,” she wrote.
“Thank you for being my friend, my sounding board, my business partner, my co-conspirator, and one of the people who knows me best in this world.”
