Quanita Adams on storytelling, strength, and building a new legacy for women in film

It’s not every day you meet someone who can shift seamlessly between acting, directing, and writing, and make it all look effortless. But Quanita Adams has spent over two decades proving that creativity doesn’t have to fit neatly into one box. Known for her powerhouse performances and sharp storytelling, Adams is a force in South Africa’s film and theatre landscape, and she’s only getting started.

We spoke to her about creativity, representation, leadership, and what’s next for her and her production company, Blended Films. What followed was a conversation full of humour, honesty, and hard-earned wisdom.

“Probably something still in the creative sector.”

When asked what she might have done if she hadn’t gone into acting, Adams remained steadfast in the creativity and arts industry.

“Probably something still in the creative sector,” she says. “When I first graduated from UCT Drama School, I ended up singing in a cover band in Majorca, literally with backing tracks on a CD. I did that for just under a year, so I suspect I’d still somehow be involved in the creative industry.”

Before drama school, Adams studied at the Michaelis School of Fine Art, where she spent two years exploring her love of visual media. “I wasn’t happy there,” she admits, “but I do love visual arts, drawing, photography, ceramics, there’s so much about creating with your hands that I find deeply satisfying.”

That creative thread runs through everything she does. “I think I would’ve found some way to keep telling stories and engaging with my world,” she reflects. “Using my voice to make sense of who I am, and hopefully resonating with others.”

Then, with her signature humour, she adds, “I used to have this fantasy where I’m a Christian woman named Beryl, married to Malcolm, who’s the regional manager at Game after being poached from Hi-Fi Corporation. I work in vehicle finance for Absa, I’m very corporate and ordentlik, so who knows?”

Between Stage and Screen

Choosing between acting and directing isn’t easy for Quanita as she has a deep love for both who hold special places in her heart.

“That’s like asking which is your favourite child,” she laughs. “I’ve spent 25 years in front of the camera or on stage and about ten years as a writer, maybe five as a director. Acting is absolutely home, but being behind the camera feels like being on the most beautiful holiday, in exquisite accommodation overlooking the ocean. It feels like a privilege. Both bring me immense joy, and I’d hate to choose.”

Dream Collaborations and Creative Legends

Quanita’s career already reads like a collaboration wish list. She’s worked with giants of South African theatre and television, from Thembi Mtshali-Jones to Bra Hugh Masekela both and other South African and international greats both on and off screen but still has her celebrity wish list.

“I’d love to work with James Baldwin, or sing with Prince,” she says. “I love Donald Glover, I love Hiro Murai. But honestly, every opportunity to get on stage or on screen with new people, that’s the real privilege. I’ve worked with incredible legends, and my heart warms just thinking about it.”

What Still Excites Her About Film

Without hesitation, Adams voice lit up when she spoke about young people.

“Young people excite me, their passion to tell stories, to make things happen on YouTube and TikTok, which is still a mystery to me,” she laughs.

As co-founder of Blended Films, alongside her partner Dominique Jossie, Adams is determined to create inclusive, women-led spaces. “We’re two women of colour creating our own work and collaborating with incredible women. Things feel ripe, fertile, and edgy; people are using their creativity to speak to the moment. The language is changing, the stories are changing. That excites me so much,” she adds. “It’s a dynamic, fast-moving industry. I love that I get to dip my toe in it from time to time.”

Advice to Her Younger Self 

We asked what she’d tell her younger self before her first day on set, which wasn’t an easy question to answer.

“Maybe other people should answer that!” she jokes. “They’d probably say: ‘Keep quiet, stay in your lane, stop getting under people’s feet.’ My motto has always been ‘wrong but strong,’ and it’s gotten me this far. I was just so full of excitement to be there, working with people I grew up watching. Maybe I was too much, but I knew my lines!” 

Dinner with Icons

If Adams could host a dinner with three women in film, her guest list would be nothing short of iconic and her menu quite hearty.

“I’d make a beautiful roast lamb with crispy roast potatoes, I’m really good at roasts!” she says proudly. “I’d invite Issa Rae, I love what she represents for creative minds who’ve been on the margins. I’d invite my partner, Dominique, because she balances me perfectly. And Kirsten Dunst, I think she’s beautiful and genuine, and I always feel like I’d get along with her.”

The rule for her table? Everyone brings something, because she isn’t quite a dessert person, though Adams admits her favourite “dessert” might still be more roast potatoes.

Challenges, Triumphs, and Building Something New 

From award-winning performances to her hit series The Riviera, Adams’ list of triumphs is long. But for her, the real victories are about collaboration and care. 

“Every time you book a gig, that’s a win,” she says. “‘Hier Na,’ my film inspired by my father’s funeral, was a big win. It was the first time that we were in a position to be able to absolutely determine the way things were going to work on set, behind the scenes, behind the camera. So we were very mindful of how we put a team together and how we were going to nurture and protect and hold space for our crew and the technical ninjas, as I call them.”  

Adams added “ A lot of time and effort is placed on actors, making sure they have the best working conditions, and I am an actor and I appreciate that, but I’ve also spent 25 years in an industry watching ninjas get overlooked because of this weird hierarchy. So Hier Na was a real transfer, Dominique and I had to put into practice things that we had dreamed about, our manifesto, our own personal and professional mandate.”  

The film became a blueprint for everything Blended Films stands for. “I’m just in a space right now where I am working and actively putting in the hard yards to dismantle things that feel like a challenge or wall.” 

Balancing Vulnerability and Power 

“You just aim for honesty,” Adams says of her storytelling approach. “I’m not afraid of vulnerability, I’ll tell you at a bus stop that I need a hug and that everything’s terrible!” she said. “But I’ve learned when to lead with softness and when to stand firm. I don’t think I have it in me to shrink, I take up a lot of space, I’m loud, I’ve got big hair and freckles, so good luck trying to shrink that.” 

On Representation and Moving the Needle 

When it comes to women behind the camera, Adams is realistic but hopeful. 
“There’s still a big gap,” she says, “but we’re working on it. At Blended, we go out of our way to put women, especially young women, in HOD and trainee positions. We don’t do it to tick boxes; we do it to build skills. You move the needle by doing the work right where you are.” 

She’s equally firm about set culture. “Blended is very tough on sexist behaviour on set, the dirty jokes, the innuendo, the inappropriate kind of ribbing that goes on while on set, mainly from men. A lot of women I’ve encountered have done the same thing because they feel that is the toll they have to pay, that’s the currency to either be accepted by men or left alone. They kinda get in on the dirty jokes and humour, and we’re not available for that. You, by all means, tell a joke, don’t tell a dirty joke, don’t tell a joke at the expense of someone based on their sexual orientation. Just don’t do it, because then maybe you don’t know how to tell a joke.”  

Legacy and Leadership 

For Adams, legacy is not about the project, it’s about how people feel. 
“The legacy of Blended Films is that when people speak about us, they speak about us as having been a joyful experience. They leave a Blended set feeling respected, energised, inspired, feeling like they did a great, hard day’s work. Respect is a big thing for me. Dominique and I always talk about this thing of “nobody moves until we all move,” and we will put a hard pause on something if anybody on our set feels discomfort. That is what we want to be known for, that we were never afraid to press pause because the humans who make up our story are infinitely more important than the story. It’s just TV or a movie, but the people who are part of building that story or creating that world, we need them. We need them long term.”  

Rewriting the Script for Women in Film 

If she could rewrite the industry’s story for women, Adams says the opening scene would be full of possibility. “I think we’re exactly where we need to be. It’s an exciting time to be a woman in this industry. There are women who’ve held this space since the ’60s… like Thembi Mtshali, and they’re still thriving. We have a lot to be proud of.” 

What’s Next 

Quanita is excited for what’s next for herself and her production company “Blended Films, in association with Story Oasis, that’s Tracey-Lee Rainer and Andrina Moodley, has been awarded an NFVF development slate. Over the next three years, we’ll develop three movies and turn six new concepts into scripts.” 

She adds, “If you buy a scratch card and you win a lot of money… I will be very happy to take that money from you,” she laughed. “We are currently in the process of closing the funding for our first movie, which is Dominique’s movie, which is called Momfluence, which is about falling pregnant in the time of influencing and we are looking to shoot that in the first quarter of next year. So it really is just the back-end business.”  

Whether she’s Beryl in a parallel universe, a singer in Majorca, or a creative powerhouse in Cape Town, Quanita Adams is above all a storyteller. Her journey is proof that courage, humour, and heart can build new worlds, both on and off screen. 

And if her stories are anything to go by, the best scenes are still to come.