Sibongile Nene

Festival Participant

Sibongile Nene's professional experience as a performer spans 15 years as a dancer, actor and singer. She recently featured in Freedom of Dreams: The Nelson Mandela Story as Nelson Mandela's mother. Her work in film, voice and television is extensive and includes principal roles in Ken Finkleman's More Tears, CBC's Cover Me, Street Legal and Madame Butterfly. She began training in drama at the age of fourteen in Leeds, England and completed a postgraduate acting diploma at Drama Studio London, England in 1991. She entered an ethnomusicology program at the Zimbabwe College of Music and majored in Dance. In 1999, her life took a turn when she followed her calling to become a diviner in the South African tradition healing of Sangoma. Her website is www.sangoma.ca.