Toy Boy

Leon van Nierop is South Africa's best known film critic and an award-winning best-selling author, He is a feature film script writer, award-winning radio drama script writer and director/producer, award-winning lecturer in film history, film critic for television, radio, magazines, podcasts and newspapers, film lecturer, and theater critic. He is also one of South Africa's most prominent voice-over artists, and does book-readings, short stories on radio and as voice over artist. He serves a judge on film panels, has has written 42 best-seller novels, film scripts, top rated radio serials for 50 years, columns and articles for magazines and newspapers, popular television series and has published 4 books on film analysis and history. One of his books about South African cinema has been awarded the country's top academic prize in recognition of his contribution to cinema, a medallion from the Academy of Arts and Sciences. He served as content producer and co-host of a TV-show Flieknet Foendies on kykNET, researched and presented a 30-episode series on the history of Afrikaans and South African Film history, Daar Doer in die Flilek for kykNET (for which he was awarded a special Medallion from the Akademie vir Wetenskap en Kuns). It has also been published as a book. He is currently hosting a podcast on film called Wat kyk Leon en Annie on Netwerk 24 Klankgolwe in which they discuss film, television series as well as behind the scenes news. He is a member of the council of the NFVF - National Film and Video Foundation and chairs the Film Slate Panels. Is a member of the Podcasting Guild of South Africa and IODSA for directors. He frequently lectures about cinema and the two films he has written have been prescribed by schools . His Ballade vir 'n Enkeling is one of the top money makers in the Afrikaans film industry. He has also written a stage play which has had a successful run at arts festivals, as well as a cabaret presented at Art Festivals. He has been a broadcaster, programme maker and news reader for 50 years on radio and hosts Ontbytsake's fliektydSAKE on kykNET . He writes film reviews for Rooi Rose, Maroela Media, Stroomaf on RSG (which he also presents) and Litnet. He was awarded a professorship at the Tshwane University of Technology, and was head of their film school for almost 4 years. He wrote a novel Die Volmaakte Moord for Penguin Randomhouse and has adapted the classic novel Het van Verlangekraal by Johann Bekker for television, radio and as a novel. He is currently writing a new stage play.