EMBETH DAVIDTZ - Actor / Director
Team Deakins
James Ellis Deakins
4.9 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 7 January 2026
⏱️ 74 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
SEASON 2 - EPISODE 175 - Embeth Davidtz - Actor / Director
In this episode, of the Team Deakins Podcast, we speak with actor and director Embeth Davidtz (DON'T LETS GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT, MAD MEN, SCHINDLER'S LIST). Embeth's directorial debut, DON'T LETS GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT (an adaptation of the book of the same name written by Alexandra Fuller), is one of our favourite films from this past year, and we spend most of our conversation learning how Embeth pulled it off. The film is centered around the experiences of a young white child living in Zimbabwe at the end of the Rhodesian Bush War, and Embeth shares how her own childhood memories of South Africa's Apartheid influenced her telling of the story. Among many topics, we discuss: the film's effective use of voiceover, Embeth's approach to directing the lead child actress, managing a monkey break-in on location, the deceptive allure of the Steadicam, how the movie was financed, and whether or not she considered changing the title. We also reflect on the challenges of navigating a career in the entertainment industry, and we learn what Embeth has planned next.
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Recommended viewing: DON'T LETS GO TO THE DOGS TONIGHT
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This episode is sponsored by Aputure
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi and welcome to season two of the Team Deacons podcast, a collection of informal conversations |
| 0:10.1 | between Roger and James Deacons and a guest. We never know where the conversation will take |
| 0:16.0 | us, so listen in and see where it goes. |
| 0:29.3 | This episode is sponsored by Aperture and its new Storm XT-52, the industry's most powerful LED point source light. Brighter than a 6K-HMI empowered by Aperture's revolutionary |
| 0:36.7 | Blair light engine, the Storm XT-52 is both a tunable |
| 0:41.8 | white light and also the brightest ever adjustable color LED. Storm XT-52, unrivaled output, |
| 0:51.3 | only from Aperture. |
| 0:58.7 | Today, we're speaking with an actor and director. |
| 1:03.8 | Her credits as an actor include Schindler's List, Junebug, and Madman. |
| 1:09.6 | She's directed the film, Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight, which is one of our favorite films this year. |
| 1:12.4 | We're pleased to welcome Ambeth Davitz. |
| 1:14.4 | Ambeth, thank you for doing this. |
| 1:15.8 | Yeah, welcome. |
| 1:16.9 | Gosh, thank you for having me. |
| 1:18.6 | It's a treat to be with you both. |
| 1:21.1 | We'd love to start with our question, which is, how did you get to where you are today? |
| 1:25.9 | Is this something that you always wanted to do as a child |
| 1:29.1 | or did you have no concept of this being possible and find it later? How did you do it? |
| 1:35.6 | Absolutely no concept, none whatsoever. I think I was born in the States and then we moved to South |
| 1:42.8 | Africa when I was eight. And I think in my |
| 1:46.9 | child mind that ended up on a dusty continent in sort of poverty, not unlike the house of the, |
| 1:54.2 | of the movie, you know, and I think it's why the story resonated with me so much, is that all I could |
... |
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