Biography

Dillon M. Banda (born Magare Banda) is an award winning film director and cinematographer. Dillon won the award for Best International Director at the 2020 Oregon Documentary Film Festival with his short documentary film 'Ashima', won the Merit Award for Best Documentary at The One Club for Creativity's 100th ADC Awards, and was shortlisted for 4 Berlin Commercial Awards, a Ciclope Asia Award, a Ciclope Africa Award and the Kinsale Shark Award for Best Cinematography with the same film. He previously won the award for Best Cinematography at the 2019 Oregon Documentary Film Festival with his short documentary film 'Belong'.

Born to a Zambian mother and a Zimbabwean father, and with his childhood and formative years spent across 3 continents - Europe, Africa and Asia - Dillon brings a unique sensibility and heightened cultural sensitivity to his work. A love for analogue photography continues to hone his eye and inform the keen attention to cinematography and composition that typifies his films. His films also often blur the line between narrative and documentary, albeit with a consistently cinematic aesthetic.

Dillon studied music technology with digital arts at the University of Hull in Northern England, earning himself a B.A.(Hons). From 2014 to 2017 he served as the founder and lead director of Lekker, the filmmaking collective headquartered in Hong Kong, and he also co-founded SoundChips, the site that featured social, cultural and critical commentary inspired by music.
- IMDb mini biography by: Craig Cathcart