Sydelle Willow Smith’s Storytelling Revolution Lights Way For Women in Business

Photo Credit: Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Awards

Sunshine Cinema co-founder Sydelle Willow Smith is using solar-powered screenings to ignite conversations and inspire change in underserved communities. Here’s how her journey is lighting the way for impact-driven women across South Africa.

South Africa (17 July 2025) – For Sydelle Willow Smith, the co-founder of Africa’s first mobile cinema network, storytelling has never been about spectacle. It’s about visibility, about ensuring that young people in under-resourced communities see themselves reflected, heard, and valued. And with Sunshine Cinema, she’s doing just that, sparking real-world change by pairing community-based screenings with critical conversations across Southern Africa.

The concept may seem simple, but its impact runs deep. Sunshine Cinema reaches rural and peri-urban areas where data costs are high, unemployment is rampant, and access to information remains a daily struggle.

“We work in spaces where young people feel forgotten by the formal economy,” Sydelle explains. “Staying true to my instincts means holding space for nuance and memory, trying to stay a lifelong learner and active listener.”

“Sunshine Cinema isn’t just about solar-powered film screenings,” says Sydelle “It’s about shifting who holds the mic, who gets to frame the conversation. Who sees themselves on screen.”

A trained anthropologist and photographer, Sydelle’s creative instincts were honed in solitary practice. But building Sunshine Cinema alongside filmmaker Rowan Pybus taught her the power of collective vision.

“It’s truly taken a village to get here, from funders to filmmakers to the young people participating and the team holding the ship together. It’s been collaborative from the get-go.”

One memory that’s etched in her heart is a screening of a documentary on Winnie Mandela in a remote village near Alice in the Eastern Cape.

“After the film, an elderly woman stood up and said, ‘Thank you for bringing us ourselves—our stories.’ That moment will stay with me forever.”

It’s this reverence for community and storytelling that fuels Sydelle’s work. But as a woman in a leadership role, the journey hasn’t been without its challenges.

“I was raised by bold, principled women,” she reflects. “That grounding helped me in rooms where I’ve been underestimated or spoken over.”

To Sydelle, women bring a “layered vision” to impact work, one grounded in empathy, resilience, and deep-rooted strength.

“We can disrupt harmful systems while modelling the empathy needed to replace them. These aren’t ‘soft’ skills—they’re essential.”

Looking back, she wishes she’d known that not having all the answers doesn’t mean you’ve failed. In fact, it’s often where true change begins.

“After a near-fatal car accident in 2016, I was forever changed. It taught me that healing, of a body or a community, takes time, trust, and flexibility.”

Her advice to young South African women with dreams but little access?

“Start where you are, with what you have. Your voice, your lived experience, that’s your capital. Don’t wait for perfect conditions. Network is capital. Ask for help. Fail forward. And know this: you are not alone.”

And when it comes to the future of women in business, Sydelle doesn’t mince words.

“I hope we stop asking women to mould themselves to broken systems. I want to see women shaping regenerative economies, where value isn’t just measured in profit, but in well-being. Where leadership looks like collaboration, not competition.”

As Sunshine Cinema continues to brighten communities across the continent, Sydelle Willow Smith is quietly rewriting the script for storytelling, for impact, and for a generation of women who are learning they don’t have to wait for permission to lead.

As a finalist for the 2025 Veuve Clicquot Bold Woman Award, Sydelle’s story is one of hope and inspiration, proving that you are capable of anything you set your heart and mind to.