Three-time SAFTA winner Zelipa Zulu is a UK-based screenwriter, showrunner / head writer, and concept creator with nearly two decades’ Film and TV experience.
Zeli’s feature film A SOWETO LOVE STORY, co-written with Darrel Bristow-Bovey, (Quizzical Pictures, Netflix) debuted at no.1 on the platform across the continent and around the world in 2024, as did her romantic drama LOVE AND WINE (Quizzical Pictures, Netflix) in 2025. Zulu’s limited series BLOOD SISTERS, produced by Ebony Life as Nigeria’s first Netflix original, debuted in the top 10 in over thirty countries in May 2022. Zeli was a staff writer on UK show EMMERDALE and is currently head writing Bahraini series BINGO for The Creator Space LLC. She a writer on two upcoming Netflix series, BENEATH and SUGAR REIGN, and head writer on a third, BLOOD TIES.
Zeli’s first feature BLUES FOR AZANIA (2007) led to work as a writer and story liner on the award-winning SA TV show GENERATIONS. From 2009 to 2016 Zeli worked as Writer/Story Liner and then head writer on the award-winning youth targeted drama series RHYTHM CITY. Under Zeli’s guidance, the show grew in audience ratings share and popularity, performing the best in its long history averaging over 4 million daily viewers. In 2015-2016, Zeli created INGOZI, an advertiser funded drama series for Word Of Mouth Productions. The show ran for two seasons on SABC 1 ranking second in ratings and audience share across all SABC channels. In 2019 Zeli created her original series OMEN, a 13-part supernatural drama series for MzansiMagic and Showmax. OMEN ranked in the top 4 most watched shows across the channel.
Other credits include: INKABA; Mnet’s THE WILD; MzansiMagic’s THE ROAD, ISIBAYA, ISITHMEBISO and LOCKDOWN; SABC’s UZALO, MAMELO, MUVHANGO and political drama, 90 PLEIN STREET.
A writer of original feature and series scripts, and a writer for hire, Zeli is also sought after for adaptation.
Represented by Aoife Lennon-Ritchie
