Skip to content

University saved filmmaker from a life of crime

David Kazadi Two young men stand inside a grand red room. The man on the left wears a black baseball cap with the word ‘TINA’ written across it. The one on the right wears a woolly hat and a white hoodie.David Kazadi
David Kazadi (right) with singer-songwriter Fuse ODG after they collaborated together

A Zambian filmmaker has said he would never have achieved his goals had he not left London for Staffordshire University.

David Kazadi found himself in court at a young age having become involved in gangs and crime.

“The judge looked at me and said, ‘There’s something quite unique about you. This life that you’re living probably isn’t a reflection of who you are,’” and was given nine months' community service instead of a jail sentence.

Using that second chance, he is now a successful director and producer with his own film company, Kazadi Films, based in Zambia.

Listen on BBC Sounds: David Kazadi on his journey from Staffs Uni to his own production company in Zambia.

Mr Kazadi was originally born in the African country, but moved to the UK at the age of five, growing up in the capital.

“My cousins were gang members, a lot of my friends were heading towards jail and I unfortunately found myself in that same mix,” he reflected.

He deliberately chose Staffordshire University to distance himself from the gang culture he had become surrounded by.

There he studied film and, through a series of work placements, became heavily involved in editing music videos.

“I did some video shoots with a team that were shooting Ed Sheeran and Maleek Berry - that put my foot in the door,” he remembered.

In his final module, he expressed his ambition to return to Zambia to create his own film production company.

“I didn’t really know much and I didn’t even have a passport back then. My lecturer said ‘this doesn’t make any sense!’” Mr Kazadi laughed.

Kazadi Films A promotion image for a film. Two men stand to the right dressed in dark clothes and one is wearing a bullet-proof vest. Two women stand to the left, one in a sparkly pink dress and the other in a camouflage jacket. The background is gold with a faded image of a man in a military uniform shouting.Kazadi Films
Black Dollar (2021) is understood to be the highest-grossing action film in Zambia

In 2014, Mr Kazadi relocated to Zambia to realise his dream and began working on his first feature film, ‘Black Dollar.’

Discussions with Netflix Africa and TMBC Africa made him take stock of his fast progress.

“I was in meetings that I probably didn’t think I’d be in at that stage of my career,” he said.

He is currently working on a youth drama series called ‘Natasha’ addressing taboo topics in the African community, such as abortion and blesser culture.

The company aims to release the series this winter.

Mr Kazadi is proud of the number of local people he has been able to provide with creative opportunities and mentoring opportunities.

On a personal level, he is pleased to have restructured his life since his teenage years.

“If I planted a mango seed in London, it probably wouldn’t grow - I needed to be in the right environment.”

Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: [email protected]