Local Personality: Christa Joubert
From TV Producer in Johannesburg to Owner of one the most beautiful guest houses in Plettenberg Bay, Christa Joubert is in a league of her own.
When asked to write an essay in primary school about the type of career they want to have, Christa sent hers to SABC and asked them for information about the industry. She was just 10 years old and already she knew that it was in her blood to become a TV Producer. At the age of 29 she became a Production Secretary of TV news. This job helped her sharpen her skills and taught her exactly what she needed to achieve in order to get where she wanted to be.
To become a TV producer you need to be organised, have great people skills and be able to handle stress
“To produce a news bulletin you have to add up the minutes, know how long the stories are and include the ad breaks so that it all fits perfectly in half an hour. In those days we still used film and slides, so you had to make sure that everything is there – and then you had to do the countdowns in the studio during the broadcast. So you have to be organised and know exactly what you are required to do so it all runs smoothly” says Christa.
Later she produced a talk show with Willem de Klerk. “People skills are vital,” she says. “You have to be able to deal with the difficult clients and keep everyone happy at the same time.”
“You must remember when I was doing this we had to do everything ourselves – coming up with the topics, doing research, contacting the guests, briefing the presenter and directing the show in the studio. You have to be a good all-rounder.
“After doing all that work you feel so proud when you see your production come together. The magic of the visuals and the audio, of everything coming together, is when it becomes worth all the stress and difficulties. It’s really rewarding.”
It is a stressful industry and you have to know how to remain calm
“When SABC3 was launched in 1996 to broadcast full spectrum programming in English, I was appointed as the Head of Programming and Scheduling. Building a successful channel from scratch with a small, dedicated team, was the biggest challenge of my career, but it also offered amazing opportunities. I regularly travelled overseas to trade markets to try and secure the best and latest programmes for the channel – twice a year to Cannes, and once a year to Los Angeles, where we were invited to view pilot episodes of all the latest series (Ally McBeal, Seinfeld, Will & Grace come to mind). I was fortunate enough to interact regularly with some well-known television executives and even met one or two stars. To top it all, we stayed at the Beverley Wilshire Hotel, at the end of Rodeo Drive, where Pretty Woman was filmed. We also acquired some of the best British series, which were hugely popular with our viewers. It was no doubt a successful period in the history of the SABC.”
The most wonderful thing about television is that there is always magic…
Christa initiated, developed and produced the only long form 3-D animation series in HD in South Africa at the time. Ed and Eppa in the Wild – is distributed internationally by Parthenon Entertainment and has met great acclaim by experts such as Theresa Plummer-Andrews, the former Head of Children’s Programming at the BBC.
Between 2004 and 2009 she produced four series of the reality travel programme Sho’t Left for South African Tourism. The 2006 series won SAFTA’s (South African Film and Television Awards) Golden Horn Award.
So what made Christa move to Plettenberg Bay? Her mom had told her, since she was a little girl: “Leave at the top of your game” – so that is exactly what she did.
“With television I had already done everything there was to do. I met so many people, travelled the world – but then I started feeling like I wanted to do something I could still do for the next 15 years.”
A large Holy Bible that was passed down to Christa had a letter in it from her uncle; it was about her great-grandmother. They owned a farm in the Karoo and she loved having people over and entertaining them. Christa didn’t know her great-grandmother but knew it must be in her blood as she wanted to do the same.
Two years ago Christa decided to open a guest house Christiana Lodge, with her brother Philip Joubert. Philip is a civil engineer, currently focussing on construction. He moved to Plett in March last year. He commutes to Pretoria every Tuesday and flies back on Thursday; he assists Christa with the business aspect of the guest house.
Our inspiration for the name of the guest house comes from memories of our childhood spent on our grandparents’ farm, “Christiana”…
“Philip had the stand, we both wanted to live in Plettenberg Bay and we knew we had to make it happen”
Initially they were looking at stands with sea views. Their neighbour Nadia invited them over for drinks one afternoon and that’s when they were completely bowled over by the beauty of the Brakkloof wetlands. A year later they started building in Solar Beach.
Russell Kretzmann from Keystone Projects and architect Mike Louw and his team from Chris Mulder and Associates in Knysna did a wonderful job with Christiana Lodge. Christa had wanted her guest house to blend in with the environment – they have certainly done that with clean edges, simple design and exquisitely elegant finishes.
The People in this town are amazing! I have never felt more welcome.
“It’s amazing, the people in this town have really made such an effort to make me feel welcome. They are very happy to come by the guest house and give me ideas and make sure I’m not forgetting anything. I never imagined that I would experience such generosity and such a sense of community. This place is very special; I am so happy to be here!” smiles Christa.
I’m sure I am not alone in saying that we are very happy to have someone like Christa in our community. Welcome to Plettenberg Bay, Christa and we wish you the very best with Christiana Lodge.
This article was written by Christy Strever.
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