With an impressive 145 Casting Director credits on her IMDB profile, Christa Schamberger’s recent Daytime Emmy win for the Netflix docuseries “African Queens: Njinga” shines a well-deserved spotlight on the integral role of casting directors and the value they bring to a project.

Christa won the Outstanding Casting award at the 51st Daytime Creative Arts & Lifestyle Emmys alongside UK-based Olissa Rogers for the series, which was executive produced and narrated by Jada Pinkett Smith. 

Two other South Africans were also amongst the winners for the their work on the series: Gale Shepherd who won for Makeup and Design and Production Designer Warren Gray who took the award for Art Direction/Set Decoration/Scenic Design.

Christa did not make it to LA to accept her award but expressed her gratitude for the prestigious, international recognition, stating, “Winning such a prestigious, international award is a huge honour and, specifically in terms of casting, it also shines a well-deserved spotlight on our wonderful South African actors who undoubtedly brought their A-game to this challenging shoot.”

Christa hopes the Daytime Emmy win will encourage a broader appreciation of the casting director’s process and the value they bring to a project. She explains, “I think that perhaps the role of the Casting Director is somewhat misunderstood in South Africa, so I hope that the award will encourage a broader appreciation of what the Casting Director’s process entails and what value a Casting Director can bring to a project.”

The 4-part “African Queens: Njinga” series is set in 1624 and tells the story of the kingdom of Ndongo in West Central Africa (modern-day Angola) and its new queen, Njinga. Christa emphasises the importance of thorough research and communication with the producer and director about the specific vision for the film. 

“Obviously that applies to all the creative departments, but when it comes to casting, all of that input has to be translated into real people! It’s deeply satisfying when you find actors who really resonate with the story and the character and can bring it all to life,” she says.

Christa, who came to Casting after a career as a Dance and Drama Teacher and lecturer, is an accredited member of both the Casting Society of America (CSA) and the International Casting Directors’ Network (ICDN). She has previously received a Primetime Emmy nomination for “Generation Kill” in 2009 and a Casting Society of America Artios Award nomination for “The Mauritanian.”

Reflecting on her recent Daytime Emmy win, Christa stresses the unpredictable nature of success in filmmaking, saying, “Filmmaking is always such a gamble, and success is not a given. You can pour your heart into a script and find that it just doesn’t connect with an audience. Success, when it comes, has an elusive, magical element about it. It is to be savoured!”

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