SA Queer Filmmaker Oliver Hermanus Honoured by City of Cape Town

South African queer filmmaker Oliver Hermanus has been honoured by the Mayor of Cape Town for his internationally acclaimed work, which often explores queer identity and belonging.

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis bestowed Civic Honours on a range of luminaries at a City Council ceremony on 14 November. The event celebrates remarkable individuals who have delivered exceptional public service in social, community or civic fields.

“Today we recognise some of these outstanding individuals. To all our civic honours recipients – and to all our great Capetonians out there – you make us proud and you give us hope,” said Mayor Hill-Lewis.

Hermanus Receives Civic Honours Book Recognition

Hermanus attended the ceremony with his proud mother at the Civic Centre, where he was recorded in the Civic Honours Book for 2025 — the City’s second-highest honour after the Freedom of the City.

“My mother and father are from Cape Town. My mother’s from Athlone,” he told Plainsman. “I need to be here today so that I can celebrate my family’s lives in Cape Town and our relationship with the city, that is who I am.”

Cape Town Pride applauded Hermanus on the recognition, writing: “Your achievements make us and our LGBTQ community proud. Well done Oliver!”

A Celebrated Career in Queer Storytelling

The 42-year-old writer and director, who was born in Cape Town, made his debut film, Shirley Adams (2009), set in Mitchells Plain. He achieved international recognition with his powerful second film, Skoonheid (2011), which examines the devastating impact of repressed homosexuality. It premiered at the 64th Cannes Film Festival and won the Queer Palm Award.

His follow-up, Moffie (2019), tells the story of a young conscript struggling to survive compulsory military service in apartheid-era South Africa while coming to terms with his sexuality. The film was a major critical success, earning overwhelmingly positive reviews worldwide and securing three nominations at the 2019 British Independent Film Awards.

Hermanus went on to direct Living (2022), which earned two Oscar nominations for Best Actor and Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as the period television series Mary & George, starring Julianne Moore and Nicholas Galitzine as a mother and son plotting to win the affections of King James I.

A New Gay Romantic Drama

Hermanus’s latest film, The History of Sound, is a gay romantic period drama that follows the relationship between two men who meet in 1917. In the summer of 1919, they travel through rural New England to record the folk songs of everyday Americans. It was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.

While it is unclear if or when The History of Sound will be released in South African cinemas, it is scheduled to be screened as part of the Cape Town Pride Festival in February 2026.

Other Honourees

Other groundbreaking figures who were added to the Civic Honours Book for 2025 included:

• Jacques Kallis, one of the greatest cricket all-rounders in history
• Temba Bavuma, South Africa and Langa’s World Cup-winning Test Cricket Captain
• Tony Leon, renowned parliamentarian, diplomat, author and public intellectual