I’ve been working as a freelance video editor in Cape Town, South Africa, since 2010. Right now, I work mostly from my studio, a breath away from Surfer’s Corner in Muizenberg.
From early beginnings thrown into the deep end of reality TV in 2010 with the SAFTA-nominated show Way of the Warrior, to TV shows in Doha, Qatar, extreme sports, and the creative editing of music videos and grounded adventure films, it was in the challenges of piecing together documentary narratives over the years that followed where I found a true appreciation for authentic storytelling.
To date, some of my favourite work—created in collaboration with some of South Africa’s most highly regarded production companies and filmmakers—has been screened at film festivals and events across South Africa, the USA, France, Thailand, and Canada. Short films I edited for Salomon TV have been screened at the BANFF Mountain Film Festival and the Cape Town Adventure Film Festival, while the feature documentary Transamericana with Rickey Gates had screenings at The Meeting Filmfest in Aspen, Colorado, and in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA.
My work is also streaming on Red Bull TV, has been broadcast on most of South Africa’s major television channels, and has filled the social media feeds of many international powerhouse brands and YouTube channels.
My second feature documentary, Fosta, will have its world premiere at the Durban International Film Festival 2026.
Commercials and TV Spots
Produced by Silver Bullet Films. Trailer Edited by Matthew Scott James | 2024
Branded Storytelling
Produced by Simon Key. Directed by Hloni Coleman. Edited by Matthew Scott James | 2025
Feature-length Documentaries
Produced by Wandering Fever. Directed by Dean Leslie. Edited by Matthew Scott James, Dean Leslie, and Caroline Brouckaert. | 2020
For a larger collection of my editing work, click on one of the icons below.